Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

PART THREE U.K. GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO THE ERDF, THE ESF AND THE COHESION FUND

TITLE I U.K. OBJECTIVES AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER I U.K. Mission, goals and geographical coverage of support

Article 89 U.K. Mission and goals

1. The Funds shall contribute to developing and pursuing the actions of the Union leading to strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in accordance with Article 174 TFEU.

The actions supported by the Funds shall also contribute to the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

2. For the purpose of the mission referred to in paragraph 1, the following goals shall be pursued:

(a) Investment for growth and jobs in Member States and regions, to be supported by the Funds; and

(b) European territorial cooperation, to be supported by the ERDF.

Article 90 U.K. Investment for growth and jobs goal

1. The Structural Funds shall support the Investment for growth and jobs goal in all regions corresponding to level 2 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics ('NUTS level 2 regions') established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 amended by Regulation (EC) No 105/2007.

2. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated among the following three categories of NUTS level 2 regions:

(a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-27;

(b) transition regions, whose GDP per capita is between 75 % and 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27;

(c) more developed regions, whose GDP per capita is above 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27.

The classification of regions under one of the three categories of regions shall be determined on the basis of how the GDP per capita of each region, measured in purchasing power parities (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2007 - 2009, relates to the average GDP of the EU-27 for the same reference period.

3. The Cohesion Fund shall support those Member States whose GNI per capita, measured in PPS and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2008 - 2010, is less than 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 for the same reference period.

The Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund in 2013, but whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 as calculated under the first subparagraph shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis.

4. Immediately following the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the list of regions fulfilling the criteria of the three categories of regions referred to in paragraph 2 and of Member States fulfilling the criteria of paragraph 3. That list shall be valid from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

5. In 2016, the Commission shall review the eligibility of Member States for support from the Cohesion Fund on the basis of Union GNI figures for the period 2012 - 2014 for the EU-27. Those Member States whose nominal GNI per capita falls below 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 shall become newly eligible for support from the Cohesion Fund and those Member States which were eligible for the Cohesion Fund and whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90 %, shall lose their eligibility and shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis.

CHAPTER II U.K. Financial framework

Article 91 U.K. Resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion

[F1 1. The resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion available for budgetary commitment for the period 2014 - 2020 shall be EUR 330 081 919 243 in 2011 prices, in accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex VI, of which EUR 325 938 694 233 represents the global resources allocated to the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, and EUR 4 143 225 010 represents a specific allocation for the YEI. For the purposes of programming and subsequent inclusion in the budget of the Union, the amount of resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion shall be indexed at 2 % per year.]

2. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out the annual breakdown of the global resources per Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and the annual breakdown of the resources from the specific allocation for the YEI per Member State together with the list of eligible regions in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in Annexes VII and VIII respectively, without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article or to Article 92(8).

[F2 3. 0,35 % of the global resources after the deduction of the support to the CEF referred to in Article 92(6), and to the aid for the most deprived referred to in Article 92(7) shall be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, of which up to EUR 112 233 000 in current prices shall be allocated to the Structural Reform Support Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2017/825 for use within the scope and purpose of that programme.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2019/711 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative.

F2 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on the establishment of the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 and amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 1305/2013.

Article 92 U.K. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal

[F3 1. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall amount to 96,09  % of the global resources (i.e., a total of EUR 317 073 545 392 ) and shall be allocated as follows:

(a) 51,52  % (i.e., a total of EUR 163 359 380 738 ) for less developed regions;

(b) 10,82  % (i.e., a total of EUR 34 319 221 039 ) for transition regions;

(c) 16,33  % (i.e., a total of EUR 51 773 321 432 ) for more developed regions;

(d) 20,89  % (i.e., a total of EUR 66 236 030 665 ) for Member States supported by the Cohesion Fund;

(e) 0,44  % (i.e., a total of EUR 1 385 591 518 ) as additional funding for the outermost regions identified in Article 349 TFEU and the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession.]

2. In addition to the amounts set out in Article 91 and paragraph 1 of this Article, for the years 2014 and 2015, a further amount of EUR 94 200 000 and of EUR 92 400 000 respectively shall be made available as set out in the "Additional adjustments" under Annex VII. Those amounts shall be identified in the decision of the Commission referred to in Article 91(2).

[X1 3. In 2016, the Commission shall, in its technical adjustment for the year 2017 in accordance with Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, review the total allocations under the Investment for growth and jobs goal of each Member State for 2017-2020, applying the allocation method set out in paragraphs 1 to 16 of Annex VII on the basis of the most recent statistics available and of the comparison, for the capped Member States, between the cumulated national GDP observed for the years 2014-2015 and the cumulated national GDP for the same period estimated in 2012 in accordance with paragraph 10 of Annex VII. Where there is a cumulative divergence of more than +/-5 % between the revised allocations and the total allocations, the total allocations shall be adjusted correspondingly. In accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, adjustments shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the financial framework shall be modified accordingly. The total net effect of the adjustments, whether positive or negative, shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 000 . Following the technical adjustment, the Commission, shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out a revised annual breakdown of the global resources for each Member State.]

4. In order to ensure that sufficient investment is targeted at youth employment, labour mobility, knowledge, social inclusion and combating poverty, the share of Structural Funds resources available for programming for operational programmes, under the Investment for growth and jobs goal allocated to the ESF in each Member State, shall not be lower than the corresponding ESF share for that Member State laid down in the operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives for the 2007-2013 programming period. To that share shall be added an additional amount for each Member State determined in accordance with the method set out in Annex IX in order to ensure that the share of the ESF as a percentage of total combined resources for the Funds at Union level, excluding the support from the Cohesion Fund for transport infrastructure under the CEF referred to in paragraph 6 and support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived referred to in paragraph 7, in Member States is not less than 23,1 %. For the purposes of this paragraph, investment provided from the ESF to the YEI shall be considered to be part of the share of Structural Funds allocated to the ESF.

[F1 5. Resources for the YEI shall amount to EUR 4 143 225 010 from the specific allocation for the YEI, of which EUR 99 573 877 constitutes the additional resources for 2019. Those resources shall be complemented by ESF targeted investment in accordance with Article 22 of the ESF Regulation.

Member States who benefit from the additional resources for the specific allocation for the YEI for 2019 as referred to in the first subparagraph may request the transfer of up to 50 % of the additional resources for the specific allocation for the YEI to the ESF in order to constitute the corresponding ESF targeted investment as required by Article 22 of the ESF Regulation. Such a transfer shall be made to the respective categories of region corresponding to the categorisation of the regions eligible for the increase of the specific allocation for the YEI. Member States shall request the transfer in the request for amendment of the programme in accordance with Article 30(1) of this Regulation. Resources allocated to past years may not be transferred.

The second subparagraph of this paragraph shall apply to any additional resources for specific allocation for the YEI increasing the resources to above EUR 4 043 651 133 .]

6. The amount of support from the Cohesion Fund to be transferred to the CEF shall be EUR 10 000 000 000. It shall be spent for transport infrastructure projects in line with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund.

The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Cohesion Fund allocation to the CEF, which amount shall be determined on a pro rata basis for the whole period. The Cohesion Fund allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly.

The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Cohesion Fund referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the CEF as of the 2014 budgetary exercise.

The amount transferred from the Cohesion Fund to the CEF, referred to in the first subparagraph, shall be implemented by launching specific calls for projects implementing the core networks or for projects and horizontal activities identified in Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013.

Rules applicable for the transport sector under Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 shall apply to the specific calls referred to in the fourth subparagraph. Until 31 December 2016, the selection of projects eligible for financing shall respect the national allocations under the Cohesion Fund. As of 1 January 2017, resources transferred to the CEF which have not been committed to a transport infrastructure project shall be made available to all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund to finance transport infrastructure projects in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013.

In order to support Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund, which may experience difficulties in designing projects that are of a sufficient maturity, quality, or both, and which have sufficient added value for the Union, particular attention shall be given to programme support actions aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations and public services in relation to the development and implementation of projects listed in Part I of Annex I to the Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. To ensure the highest possible absorption of the transferred funds in all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion fund, the Commission may organise additional calls.

7. The support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived under the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal shall be not less than EUR 2 500 000 000 and may be increased by up to EUR 1 000 000 000 by additional support decided on a voluntary basis by Member States.

The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Structural Funds allocation to aid for the most deprived for the whole period. The Structural Funds allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly, on the basis of a pro-rata reduction by category of region.

The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Structural Funds referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the aid for the most deprived instrument with the 2014 budgetary exercise.

8. EUR 330 000 000 of the Structural Funds resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated to innovative actions under direct or indirect management by the Commission in the area of sustainable urban development.

[F4 9. Resources for the European territorial cooperation goal shall amount to 2,69 % of the global resources available for budgetary commitment from the Funds for the period 2014-2020 (i.e., a total of EUR 8 865 148 841 ).]

10. For the purposes of this Article, Articles 18, 91, 93, 95, 99, 120, Annex I and Annex X of this Regulation, Article 4 of the ERDF Regulation, Article 4 and Articles 16 to 23 of the ESF Regulation, Article 3(3) of the ETC Regulation, the outermost region of Mayotte shall be considered to be a NUTS level 2 region falling into the category of less developed regions. For the purposes of Article 3(1) and (2) of the ETC Regulation, the regions of Mayotte and Saint Martin shall be considered to be NUTS level 3 regions.

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (Official Journal of the European Union L 347 of 20 December 2013).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2019/711 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative.

F3 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2018/1719 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion and the resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

F4 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2017/2305 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the changes to the resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion and to the resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal.

Article 93 U.K. Non-transferability of resources between categories of regions

1. The total appropriations allocated to each Member State in respect of less developed regions, transition regions and more developed regions shall not be transferable between those categories of regions.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Commission may accept, in duly justified circumstances which are linked to the implementation of one or more thematic objectives, a proposal by a Member State in its first submission of the Partnership Agreement or, in duly justified circumstances, at the time of allocation of the performance reserve, or in a major revision of the Partnership Agreement, to transfer up to 3 % of the total appropriation for a category of regions to other categories of regions.

Article 94 U.K. Non-transferability of resources between goals

1. The total appropriations allocated to each Member State in respect of the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal shall not be transferable between those goals.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Commission may in order to uphold the effective contribution of the Funds to the missions referred to in Article 89(1), in duly justified circumstances, and subject to the condition laid down in paragraph 3, accept by means of an implementing act a proposal by a Member State in its first submission of the Partnership Agreement to transfer a part of its appropriations for the European territorial cooperation goal to the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

3. The share of the European territorial cooperation goal in the Member State making the proposal referred to in paragraph 2 shall be not less than 35 % of the total allocated to that Member State in respect of the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and after transfer shall be not less than 25 % of that total.

Article 95 U.K. Additionality

1. For the purposes of this Article and Annex X, the following definitions apply:

(1)

'gross fixed capital formation' means all the resident producers' acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period and certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of producer or institutional units, as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96(1);

(2)

'fixed assets' means all tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from processes of production that are themselves used repeatedly, or continuously, in processes of production for more than one year;

(3)

'general government' means the totality of institutional units which, in addition to fulfilling their political responsibilities and their role of economic regulation, produce principally non-market services (possibly goods) for individual or collective consumption and redistribute income and wealth;

(4)

'public or equivalent structural expenditure' means the gross fixed capital formation of the general government.

2. Support from the Funds for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall not replace public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State.

3. Member States shall maintain for the period 2014-2020 a level of public or equivalent structural expenditure on average per year at least equal to the reference level set in the Partnership Agreement.

In setting the reference level referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission and the Member States shall take into account the general macroeconomic conditions and specific or exceptional circumstances, such as privatisations, an exceptional level of public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State in the 2007-2013 programming period and the evolution of other public investment indicators. They shall also take into account changes in the national allocations from the Funds as compared to the years 2007-2013.

4. Verification of whether the level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal has been maintained for the period shall only take place in those Member States in which less developed regions cover at least 15 % of the total population.

In those Member States in which less developed regions cover at least 65 % of the total population, the verification shall take place at national level.

In those Member States in which less developed regions cover more than 15 % and less than 65 % of the total population, the verification shall take place at regional level. For that purpose, those Member States shall provide to the Commission information about the expenditure in the less developed regions at each stage of the verification process.

5. The verification of whether the level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal has been maintained shall take place at the time of submission of the Partnership Agreement (the "ex ante verification"), in 2018 (the "mid-term verification"), and in 2022 (the "ex post verification").

The detailed rules relating to the verification of additionality are set out in point 2 of Annex X.

6. If it is established by the Commission in the ex post verification that a Member State has not maintained the reference level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal set out in the Partnership Agreement and as set out in Annex X, the Commission may, in relation to the degree of non-compliance, carry out a financial correction by adoption of a decision by means of implementing act. In determining whether to carry out a financial correction the Commission shall take into account whether the economic situation of the Member State has significantly changed since the mid-term verification. The detailed rules relating to financial correction rates are set out in point 3 of Annex X.

7. Paragraphs 1 to 6 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.

TITLE II U.K. PROGRAMMING

CHAPTER I U.K. General provisions on the Funds

Article 96 U.K. Content, adoption and amendment of operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal

1. An operational programme shall consist of priority axes. A priority axis shall concern one Fund and one category of region, except in the case of the Cohesion Fund, and shall correspond, without prejudice to Article 59, to a thematic objective and comprise one or more of the investment priorities of that thematic objective, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules. Where appropriate and in order to increase its impact and effectiveness through a thematically coherent integrated approach, a priority axis may:

(a) concern more than one category of region;

(b) combine one or more complementary investment priorities from the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the ESF under one thematic objective;

(c) in duly justified cases combine one or more complementary investment priorities from different thematic objectives in order to achieve the maximum contribution to that priority axis;

(d) for the ESF, combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives set out in points (8), (9), (10) and (11) of the first paragraph of Article 9 in order to facilitate their contribution to other priority axes and in order to implement social innovation and transnational cooperation.

Member States may combine two or more of the options in points (a) to (d).

2. An operational programme shall contribute to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and to the achievement of economic, social and territorial cohesion and shall set out:

(a) a justification for the choice of thematic objectives, corresponding investment priorities and financial allocations having regard to the Partnership Agreement, based on an identification of regional and, where appropriate, national needs including the need to address the challenges identified in relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU, taking into account the ex ante evaluation in accordance with Article 55;

(b) for each priority axis other than technical assistance:

(i)

the investment priorities and corresponding specific objectives;

(ii)

in order to strengthen the result-orientation of the programming, the expected results for the specific objectives, and the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, where appropriate quantified in accordance with the Fund-specific rules;

(iii)

a description of the type and examples of actions to be supported under each investment priority and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i) including the guiding principles for the selection of operations and where appropriate, the identification of main target groups, specific territories targeted, types of beneficiaries, the planned use of financial instruments and major projects;

(iv)

the output indicators, including the quantified target value, which are expected to contribute to the results, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules, for each investment priority;

(v)

identification of implementation steps and financial and output indicators, and where appropriate, result indicators, to be used as milestones and targets for the performance framework in accordance with Article 21(1) and Annex II;

(vi)

the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources;

(vii)

where appropriate, a summary of the planned use of technical assistance including, where necessary, actions to reinforce the administrative capacity of authorities involved in the management and control of the programmes and beneficiaries;

(c) for each priority axis concerning technical assistance:

(i)

specific objectives;

(ii)

the expected results for each specific objective, and, where objectively justified given the content of the actions, the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules;

(iii)

a description of actions to be supported and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i);

(iv)

the output indicators which are expected to contribute to the results;

(v)

the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources.

Point (ii) shall not apply where the Union contribution to the priority axis or axes concerning technical assistance in an operational programme does not exceed EUR 15 000 000.

(d) a financing plan containing the following tables:

(i)

tables specifying for each year, in accordance with Articles 60, 120 and 121, the amount of the total financial appropriation envisaged for the support from each of the Funds, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve;

(ii)

tables specifying, for the whole programming period, for the operational programme and for each priority axis, the amount of the total financial appropriation of the support from each of the Funds and the national co-financing, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve. For priority axes, which concern several categories of region, the tables shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from the Funds and the national co-financing for each category of region.

For priority axes, which combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives, the table shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from each of the Funds and the national co-financing for each of the corresponding thematic objectives.

Where the national co-financing is made up of public and private co-financing, the table shall give the indicative breakdown between the public and the private components. It shall show, for information purposes, the envisaged participation from the EIB;

(e) a list of major projects for which the implementation is planned during the programming period.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the nomenclature referred to in points (b)(vi) and (c)(v)of the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).

3. Taking into account its content and objectives, an operational programme shall describe the integrated approach to territorial development, having regard to the Partnership Agreement, and showing how that operational programme contributes to the accomplishment of its objectives and expected results, specifying, where appropriate, the following:

(a) the approach to the use of community-led local development instruments and the principles for identifying the areas where it will be implemented;

[X1 (b) the indicative amount of the ERDF support for integrated actions for sustainable urban development, to be implemented in accordance with Article 7(4) of the ERDF Regulation and the indicative allocation of ESF support for integrated actions;]

(c) the approach to the use of the ITI instrument other than in cases covered by point (b), and their indicative financial allocation from each priority axis;

(d) the arrangements for interregional and transnational actions, within the operational programmes, with beneficiaries located in at least one other Member State;

(e) where Member States and regions participate in macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies, subject to the needs of the programme area as identified by the Member State, the contribution of the planned interventions under the programme to such strategies.

4. In addition, the operational programme shall specify the following:

(a) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or target groups at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities, and persons with disabilities, and where relevant the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement;

(b) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the demographic challenges of regions or specific needs of areas which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, as referred to in Article 174 TFEU and the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement to this end.

5. The operational programme shall identify:

(a) the managing authority, the certifying authority, where applicable, and the audit authority;

(b) the body to which payments are to be made by the Commission;

(c) the actions taken to involve the relevant partners referred to in Article 5 in the preparation of the operational programme, and the role of those partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme.

6. The operational programme shall also set out the following, having regard to the content of the Partnership Agreement and taking into account the institutional and legal framework of the Member States:

(a) mechanisms to ensure coordination between the Funds, the EAFRD, the EMFF and other Union and national funding instruments, and with the EIB taking into account the relevant provisions laid down in the CSF;

(b) for each ex ante conditionality, established in accordance with Article 19 and Annex XI, which is applicable to the operational programme, an assessment of whether the ex ante conditionality is fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, and where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, a description of the actions to fulfil the ex ante conditionality, the bodies responsible and a timetable for such actions in accordance with the summary submitted in the Partnership Agreement;

(c) a summary of the assessment of the administrative burden on beneficiaries and, where necessary, the actions planned, accompanied by an indicative timeframe, to reduce the administrative burden.

7. Each operational programme, except those where technical assistance is undertaken under a specific operational programme, shall, subject to the Member State's duly justified assessment of their relevance to the content and objectives of the operational programmes, include a description of:

(a) the specific actions to take into account environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster resilience and risk prevention and management, in the selection of operations;

(b) the specific actions to promote equal opportunities and prevent discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation during the preparation, design and implementation of the operational programme and in particular in relation to access to funding, taking account of the needs of the various target groups at risk of such discrimination and in particular the requirements to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities;

(c) the contribution of the operational programme to the promotion of equality between men and women and, where appropriate, the arrangements to ensure the integration of gender perspective at operational programme and operation level.

Member States may submit an opinion from the national equality bodies on the measures set out in points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph with the proposal for an operational programme under the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

8. When a Member State prepares a maximum of one operational programme for each Fund, the elements of the operational programme falling under point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, points (a), (c) and (d) of paragraph 3, paragraph 4 and paragraph 6 may be incorporated solely under the relevant provisions of the Partnership Agreement.

9. The operational programme shall be prepared in accordance with a model. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article adopt an implementing act laying down that model. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).

[F5 10. Without prejudice to Article 30(5), the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, approving all the elements, including any of its future amendments, of the operational programme falling under this Article, except those falling under points (b)(vi), (c)(v) and (e) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, paragraphs 4 and 5, points (a) and (c) of paragraph 6 and paragraph 7, which remain under the responsibility of the Member States.]

11. The managing authority shall notify the Commission of any decision amending the elements of the operational programme not covered by the Commission decision, referred to in paragraph 10, within one month of the date of that amending decision. The amending decision shall specify the date of its entry into force, which shall not be earlier than the date of its adoption.

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (Official Journal of the European Union L 347 of 20 December 2013).

Textual Amendments

F5 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mobilise investments in the healthcare systems of Member States and in other sectors of their economies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative).

Article 97 U.K. Specific provisions on the programming of support for the joint instruments for uncapped guarantees and securitisation under the Investment for growth and jobs goal

In accordance with Article 28, operational programmes referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 39(4) shall include only the elements referred to in point (b)(i), (ii) and (iv) and point (d) of the first subparagraph of Article 96(2), Article 96(5) and point (b) of Article 96(6).

Article 98 U.K. Joint support from the Funds under the Investment for growth and jobs goal

1. The Funds may jointly provide support for operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

[F6 2. The ERDF and the ESF may finance, in a complementary manner and subject to a limit of 10 % of Union funding for each priority axis of an operational programme, a part of an operation for which the costs are eligible for support from the other Fund on the basis of rules applied to that Fund, provided that such costs are necessary for the satisfactory implementation of the operation and are directly linked to it.]

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 99 U.K. Geographical scope of operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal

Unless otherwise agreed between the Commission and the Member State, operational programmes for the ERDF and the ESF shall be drawn up at the appropriate geographical level and at least at NUTS level 2, in accordance with the institutional and legal framework of the Member State.

Operational programmes with support from the Cohesion Fund shall be drawn up at national level.

CHAPTER II U.K. Major projects

Article 100 U.K. Content

As part of an operational programme or operational programmes, which have been subject to a Commission decision under Article 96(10) of this Regulation or under Article 8(12) of the ETC Regulation, the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund may support an operation comprising a series of works, activities or services intended in itself to accomplish an indivisible task of a precise economic or technical nature which has clearly identified goals and for which the total eligible cost exceeds EUR 50 000 000 and in the case of operations contributing to the thematic objective under point (7) of the first paragraph of Article 9 where the total eligible cost exceeds EUR 75 000 000 (the 'major project'). Financial instruments shall not be considered to be major projects.

Article 101 U.K. Information necessary for the approval of a major project

Before a major project is approved, the managing authority shall ensure that the following information is available:

(a)

details concerning the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project, and its capacity;

(b)

a description of the investment and its location;

(c)

the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61;

(d)

feasibility studies carried out, including the options analysis, and the results;

(e)

a cost-benefit analysis, including an economic and a financial analysis, and a risk assessment;

(f)

an analysis of the environmental impact, taking into account climate change adaptation and mitigation needs, and disaster resilience;

(g)

an explanation as to how the major project is consistent with the relevant priority axes of the operational programme or operational programmes concerned, and its expected contribution to achieving the specific objectives of those priority axes and the expected contribution to socio-economic development;

(h)

the financing plan showing the total planned financial resources and the planned support from the Funds, the EIB, and all other sources of financing, together with physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks;

(i)

the timetable for implementing the major project and, where the implementation period is expected to be longer than the programming period, the phases for which support from the Funds is requested during the programming period.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the methodology to be used based on recognised best practices, in carrying out the cost-benefit analysis referred to in point (e) of the first paragraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).

At the initiative of a Member State, the information in points (a) to (i) of the first paragraph may be assessed by independent experts supported by technical assistance of the Commission or, in agreement with the Commission, by other independent experts ("quality review"). In other cases, the Member State shall submit to the Commission the information set out in points (a) to (i) of the first paragraph as soon as it is available.

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 149, laying down the methodology to be used in carrying out the quality review of a major project.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the format for submission of the information set out in points (a) to (i) of the first paragraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).

Article 102 U.K. Decision on a major project

1. Where a major project has been appraised positively by a quality review by independent experts, on the basis of their assessment of the information referred to in the first paragraph of Article 101, the managing authority may proceed with the selection of the major project in accordance with Article 125(3). The managing authority shall notify the Commission of the selected major project. That notification shall consist of the following elements:

(a) the document referred to in point (c) of Article 125(3) setting out:

(i)

the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project;

(ii)

a description of the investment, its location, timetable and expected contribution of the major project to the specific objectives of the relevant priority axis or axes;

(iii)

the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61;

(iv)

the financing plan, and the physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks;

(b) the quality review of the independent experts, providing clear statements on the investment's feasibility and the economic viability of the major project.

The financial contribution to the major project selected by the Member State shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission in the absence of a decision, by means of an implementing act, refusing the financial contribution within three months of the date of the notification referred to in the first subparagraph. The Commission shall refuse the financial contribution only on the grounds that it has established a significant weakness in the independent quality review.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the format for the notification referred to in the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).

2. In cases other than those referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall appraise the major project on the basis of the information referred to in Article 101 in order to determine whether the requested financial contribution for the major project selected by the managing authority in accordance with Article 125(3) is justified. The Commission shall adopt a decision on the approval of the financial contribution to the selected major project, by means of an implementing act, no later than three months after the date of submission of the information referred to in Article 101.

3. The approval by the Commission under the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 shall be conditional on the first works contract being concluded, or, in the case of operations implemented under PPP structures, on the signing of the PPP agreement between the public body and the private sector body, within three years of the date of the approval. At the duly motivated request of the Member State, in particular in the case of delays resulting from administrative and legal proceedings related to the implementation of major projects, and made within the three year period, the Commission may adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on the extension of the period by not more than two years.

4. Where the Commission does not approve the financial contribution to the selected major project, it shall give in its decision the reasons for its refusal.

5. Major projects notified to the Commission under paragraph 1 or submitted for approval under paragraph 2 shall be contained in the list of major projects in an operational programme.

[F6 6. Expenditure relating to a major project may be included in a payment application after the submission for approval referred to in paragraph 2. Where the Commission does not approve the major project selected by the managing authority, the declaration of expenditure following the withdrawal of the application by the Member State or the adoption of the Commission decision shall be rectified accordingly.]

[F7 7. Where the major project is appraised by independent experts pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, expenditure relating to that major project may be included in a payment application after the managing authority has informed the Commission of the submission to the independent experts of the information required under Article 101.

An independent quality review shall be delivered within six months of the submission of that information to the independent experts.

The corresponding expenditure shall be withdrawn and the declaration of expenditure shall be rectified accordingly in the following cases:

(a) where the independent quality review has not been notified to the Commission within three months of the expiry of the deadline referred to in the second subparagraph;

(b) where the submission of the information is withdrawn by the Member State; or

(c) where the relevant appraisal is negative.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

F7 Inserted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 103 U.K. Decision on a major project subject to phased implementation

1. By way of derogation from the third paragraph of Article 101 and Article 102(1) and (2), the procedures set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall apply to an operation which satisfies the following conditions:

(a) the operation consists of the second or subsequent phase of a major project under the previous programming period for which the preceding phase or phases are approved by the Commission not later than 31 December 2015 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006; or in the case of Member States which acceded to the Union after 1 January 2013, no later than 31 December 2016;

(b) the sum of the total eligible costs of all phases of the major project exceeds the respective levels set out in Article 100;

(c) the major project application and assessment by the Commission under the previous programming period covered all the planned phases;

(d) there are no substantial changes in the information referred to in the first paragraph of Article 101 of this Regulation for the major project compared to the information provided for the major project application submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, in particular as regards the total eligible cost;

(e) the phase of the major project to be implemented under the previous programming period is or will be ready to be used for its intended purpose as specified in the Commission decision by the deadline of the submission of the closure documents for the relevant operational programme or programmes.

2. The managing authority may proceed with the selection of the major project in accordance with Article 125(3) and submit the notification containing all the elements set out in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 102(1) together with its confirmation that the condition under point (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article is fulfilled. No quality review of the information by independent experts shall be required.

3. The financial contribution to the major project selected by the managing authority shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission in the absence of a decision, by means of an implementing act, refusing the financial contribution to the major project within three months of the date of the notification referred to in paragraph 2. The Commission shall refuse the financial contribution only on the grounds that there have been substantial changes in the information referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1 or that the major project is not consistent with the relevant priority axis of the operational programme or programmes concerned.

4. Article 102(3) to (6) shall apply to decisions on a major project subject to phased implementation.

CHAPTER III U.K. Joint action plan

Article 104 U.K. Scope

1. A joint action plan is an operation the scope of which is defined and which is managed in relation to the outputs and results to be achieved. It comprises a project or a group of projects, not consisting of the provision of infrastructure, carried out under the responsibility of the beneficiary, as part of an operational programme or programmes. The outputs and results of a joint action plan shall be agreed between a Member State and the Commission and shall contribute to specific objectives of the operational programmes and form the basis of support from the Funds. Results shall refer to direct effects of the joint action plan. The beneficiary of a joint action plan shall be a public law body. Joint action plans shall not be considered to be major projects.

[F6 2. The public expenditure allocated to a joint action plan shall be a minimum of EUR 5 000 000 or 5 % of the public support of the operational programme or one of the contributing programmes, whichever is lower.

3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to operations supported under the YEI, to the first joint action plan submitted by a Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal or the first joint action plan submitted by a programme under the European territorial cooperation goal.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 105 U.K. Preparation of joint action plans

1. The Member State, the managing authority or any designated public law body may submit a proposal for a joint action plan at the same time as or subsequent to the submission of the operational programmes concerned. That proposal shall contain all the information referred to in Article 106.

2. A joint action plan shall cover part of the period between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023. [F8 The outputs and results of a joint action plan shall give rise to reimbursement only if attained after the date of the decision of approval of the joint action plan referred to in Article 107 and before the end of the implementation period defined in that decision.]

Textual Amendments

F8 Deleted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 106 U.K. Content of joint action plans

A joint action plan shall contain:

(1)

[F6 a description of the objectives of the joint action plan and how it contributes to the objectives of the programme or to the relevant country-specific recommendations and the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union under Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations which the Member States are to take into account in their employment policies under Article 148(4) TFEU;]

(2)

[F8 . . . . .]

(3)

[F6 a description of the projects or types of projects envisaged, together with the milestones, where relevant, and the targets for outputs and results linked to the common indicators by priority axis, where relevant;]

(4)

information on its geographic coverage and target groups;

(5)

its expected implementation period;

(6)

[F6 confirmation that it will contribute to the approach to promoting equality between men and women, as set out in the relevant programme or Partnership Agreement;

(7)

confirmation that it will contribute to the approach on sustainable development, as set out in the relevant programme or Partnership Agreement;

(8)

its implementing provisions, including the following:

(a)

information on the selection of the joint action plan by the managing authority in accordance with Article 125(3);

(b)

the arrangements for steering the joint action plan, in accordance with Article 108;

(c)

the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the joint action plan including arrangements ensuring the quality, collection and storage of data on the achievement of milestones, outputs and results;]

(9)

its financial arrangements, including the following:

(a)

[F6 the costs of achieving milestones, and targets for outputs and results, based, in the case of standard scales of unit costs and lump sums, on the methods set out in Article 67(5) of this Regulation and in Article 14 of the ESF Regulation;]

(b)

[F8 . . . . .]

(c)

the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure.

The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts laying down the format of the model for the joint action plan. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

F8 Deleted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 107 U.K. Decision on the joint action plan

1. The Commission shall appraise the joint action plan on the basis of the information referred to in Article 106 in order to determine whether support from the Funds is justified.

Where the Commission, within two months following the submission of a joint action plan proposal, considers that it does not meet the appraisal requirements referred to in Article 104, it shall make observations to the Member State. The Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information requested and, where appropriate, revise the joint action plan accordingly.

2. Provided that any observations have been adequately taken into account, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, approving the joint action plan no later than four months after its submission by the Member State but not before the adoption of the operational programmes concerned.

[F6 3. The decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall indicate the beneficiary and the objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones, where relevant, and targets for outputs and results, the costs of achieving those milestones and targets for outputs and result, and the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure, the implementation period of the joint action plan and, where relevant, the geographical coverage and target groups of the joint action plan.]

4. Where the Commission refuses, by means of an implementing act, to allow support from the Funds to be allocated to a joint action plan, it shall notify the Member State of its reasons within the period laid down in paragraph 2.

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 108 U.K. Steering committee and amendment of the joint action plan

[F6 1. The Member State or the managing authority shall set up a steering committee for the joint action plan, which may be distinct from the monitoring committee of the relevant operational programmes. The steering committee shall meet at least twice a year and shall report to the managing authority. Where relevant, the managing authority shall inform the relevant monitoring committee of the results of the work carried out by the steering committee and the progress of the implementation of the joint action plan in accordance with point (e) of Article 110(1) and point (a) of Article 125(2).]

The composition of the steering committee shall be decided by the Member State in agreement with the relevant managing authority, respecting the principle of partnership.

The Commission may participate in the work of the steering committee in an advisory capacity.

2. The steering committee shall carry out the following activities:

(a) review progress towards achieving the milestones, outputs and results of the joint action plan;

(b) consider and approve any proposal to amend the joint action plan in order to take account of any issues affecting its performance.

3. Requests for amendment of joint action plans submitted by a Member State to the Commission shall be duly substantiated. The Commission shall assess whether the request for amendment is justified, taking account of the information provided by the Member State. The Commission may make observations and the Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on a request for amendment no later than three months after its submission by the Member State, provided that any observations made by the Commission have been satisfactorily taken into account. The amendment shall enter into force from the date of the decision, unless otherwise set out in the decision.

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 109 U.K. Financial management and control of the joint action plan

1. Payments to the beneficiary of a joint action plan shall be treated as lump sums or standard scales of unit costs. [F8 The ceiling for lump sums set out in point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1) shall not apply.]

2. The financial management, control and audit of the joint action plan shall be aimed exclusively at verifying that the conditions for payments defined in the decision approving the joint action plan have been fulfilled.

3. The beneficiary of a joint action plan and the bodies acting under its responsibility may apply their accounting practices for the costs of implementing operations. Those accounting practices and the costs actually incurred by the beneficiary shall not be subject to audit by the audit authority or the Commission.

Textual Amendments

F8 Deleted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

TITLE III U.K. MONITORING, EVALUATION, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

CHAPTER I U.K. Monitoring and evaluation

Article 110 U.K. Functions of the monitoring committee

1. The monitoring committee shall examine in particular:

(a) any issues that affect the performance of the operational programme;

(b) progress made in implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to findings of evaluations;

[F6 (c) implementation of the communication strategy, including information and communication measures, and of measures to enhance the visibility of the Funds;]

(d) implementation of major projects;

(e) implementation of joint action plans;

(f) actions to promote equality between men and women, equal opportunities, and non-discrimination, including accessibility for persons with disabilities;

(g) actions to promote sustainable development;

(h) where applicable ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled at the date of the submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, progress on actions to fulfil the applicable ex ante conditionalities;

(i) financial instruments.

2. By way of derogation from Article 49(3), the monitoring committee shall examine and approve:

[F6 (a) the methodology and criteria used for selection of operations, except where those criteria are approved by local action groups in accordance with point (c) of Article 34(3);]

(b) the annual and final implementation reports;

(c) the evaluation plan for the operational programme and any amendment of the evaluation plan, including where either is part of a common evaluation plan pursuant to Article 114(1);

(d) the communication strategy for the operational programme and any amendment of the strategy;

(e) any proposal by the managing authority for any amendment to the operational programme.

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

Article 111 U.K. Implementation reports for the Investment for growth and jobs goal

1. By 31 May 2016 and by the same date of each subsequent year until and including 2023 the Member State shall submit to the Commission an annual implementation report in accordance with Article 50(1). The report submitted in 2016 shall cover the financial years 2014 and 2015, as well as the period between the starting date for eligibility of expenditure and 31 December 2013.

2. For the reports submitted in 2017 and 2019, the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 shall be 30 June.

3. Annual implementation reports shall set out information on:

(a) implementation of the operational programme in accordance with Article 50(2);

(b) progress in preparation and implementation of major projects and joint action plans.

4. The annual implementation reports submitted in 2017 and 2019 shall set out and assess the information required under Article 50(4) and (5) respectively and the information set out in paragraph 3 of this Article together with the following information:

(a) progress in the implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to the findings of evaluations;

(b) the results of the information and publicity measures of the Funds carried out under the communication strategy;

(c) the involvement of the partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme.

The annual implementation reports submitted in 2017 and 2019 may, depending on the content and objectives of operational programmes, set out information and assess the following:

(a) progress in the implementation of the integrated approach to territorial development, including development of regions facing demographic challenges and permanent or natural handicaps, sustainable urban development, and community-led local development under the operational programme;

(b) progress in the implementation of actions to reinforce the capacity of Member State authorities and beneficiaries to administer and use the Funds;

(c) progress in the implementation of any interregional and transnational actions;

(d) where appropriate, the contribution to macro-regional and sea basin strategies;

(e) the specific actions taken to promote equality between men and women and to prevent discrimination, in particular accessibility for persons with disabilities, and the arrangements implemented to ensure the integration of the gender perspective in the operational programme and operations;

(f) actions taken to promote sustainable development in accordance with Article 8;

(g) progress in the implementation of actions in the field of social innovation, where appropriate;

(h) progress in the implementation of measures to address the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or of target groups at highest risk of poverty, discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities and persons with disabilities, long term unemployed and young people not in employment, including, where appropriate, the financial resources used.

By way of derogation from the first and second subparagraphs, and in order to ensure consistency between the Partnership Agreement and the progress report, [X1 Member States with no more than one operational programme per Fund may include the information relating to ex ante conditionalities referred to in Article 50(4), the information required by Article 50(5)] and the information referred to in points (a), (b), (c) and (h) of the second subparagraph of this paragraph in the progress report instead of the annual implementation reports submitted in 2017 and 2019 respectively and the final implementation report, without prejudice to point (b) of Article 110(2).

5. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts establishing the models for the annual and final implementation reports. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (Official Journal of the European Union L 347 of 20 December 2013).

Article 112 U.K. Transmission of financial data

1. By 31 January, 31 July and 31 October, the Member State shall transmit electronically to the Commission for monitoring purposes, for each operational programme and by priority axis:

(a) the total and public eligible cost of the operations and the number of operations selected for support;

(b) the total eligible expenditure declared by beneficiaries to the managing authority.

2. In addition, the transmission made by 31 January shall contain the above data broken down by category of intervention. That transmission shall be considered to fulfil the requirement for the submission of financial data referred to in Article 50(2).

3. A forecast of the amount for which Member States expect to submit payment applications for the current financial year and the subsequent financial year shall accompany the transmissions to be made by 31 January and 31 July.

4. The cut-off date for the data submitted under this Article shall be the end of the month preceding the month of submission.

5. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts establishing the model to be used when submitting the financial data to the Commission for monitoring purposes. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).

Article 113 U.K. Cohesion Report

The report of the Commission referred to in Article 175 TFEU shall include:

(a)

a record of progress made towards achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion, including the socio-economic situation and development of the regions, as well as the integration of the Union's priorities;

(b)

a record of the role of the Funds, EIB funding and the other instruments in, as well as the effect of other Union and national policies on, the progress made;

(c)

where appropriate an indication of future Union measures and policies necessary to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion, as well as to deliver the Union's priorities.

Article 114 U.K. Evaluation

[F6 1. An evaluation plan shall be drawn up by the managing authority or a Member State for one or more operational programmes. The evaluation plan shall be submitted to the monitoring committee no later than one year after the adoption of the operational programme. In the cases of dedicated programmes referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 39(4) adopted before 2 August 2018 , the evaluation plan shall be submitted to the monitoring committee no later than one year after that date.]

2. By 31 December 2022, managing authorities shall submit to the Commission, for each operational programme, a report summarising the findings of evaluations carried out during the programming period and the main outputs and results of the operational programme, providing comments on the reported information.

3. The Commission shall carry out ex post evaluations in close cooperation with the Member States and managing authorities.

F8 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

F8 Deleted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

CHAPTER II U.K. [F6 Information, communication and visibility]

Article 115 U.K. [F6 Information, communication and visibility]

1. Member States and managing authorities shall be responsible for:

(a) drawing up communication strategies;

(b) ensuring the establishment of a single website or a single website portal providing information on, and access to, all operational programmes in that Member State, including information about the timing of implementation of programming and any related public consultation processes;

(c) informing potential beneficiaries about funding opportunities under operational programmes;

[F6 (d) publicising to Union citizens the role and achievements of cohesion policy and of the Funds through measures to enhance the visibility of the results and impact of Partnership Agreements, operational programmes and operations.]

2. Member States or managing authorities shall, in order to ensure transparency concerning support from the Funds, maintain a list of operations by operational programme and by Fund in a spreadsheet data format, which allows data to be sorted, searched, extracted, compared and easily published on the internet, for instance in CSV or XML format. The list of operations shall be accessible through the single website or the single website portal providing a list and summary of all operational programmes in that Member State.

In order to encourage the use of the list of operations subsequently by the private sector, civil society or national public administration, the website may clearly indicate the applicable licensing rules under which data are published.

The list of operations shall be updated at least every six months.

The minimum information to be set out in the list of operations is laid down in Annex XII.

[F6 3. Detailed rules concerning information, communication and visibility for the public and information measures for potential beneficiaries and for beneficiaries are laid down in Annex XII.]

4. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the technical characteristics of information and communication measures for the operation and instructions for creating the emblem and a definition of the standard colours. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).

Article 116 U.K. Communication strategy

1. The Member State or the managing authorities shall draw up a communication strategy for each operational programme. A common communication strategy may be drawn up for several operational programmes. The communication strategy shall take into account the size of the operational programme or programmes concerned, in accordance with the principle of proportionality.

The communication strategy shall include the elements set out in Annex XII.

2. The communication strategy shall be submitted to the monitoring committee for approval in accordance with point (d) of Article 110(2) no later than six months after the adoption of the operational programme or programmes concerned.

Where a common communication strategy is drawn up for several operational programmes and concerns several monitoring committees, the Member State may designate one monitoring committee to be responsible, in consultation with the other relevant monitoring committees, for the approval of the common communication strategy and for the approval of any subsequent amendments of that strategy.

Where necessary, the Member State or managing authorities may amend the communication strategy during the programming period. The amended communication strategy shall be submitted by the managing authority to the monitoring committee for approval in accordance with point (d) of Article 110(2).

[F6 3. By way of derogation from the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article, the managing authority shall inform the monitoring committee or committees responsible at least once a year on the progress in the implementation of the communication strategy as referred to in point (c) of Article 110(1) and on its analysis of the results of that implementation as well as on the information and communication activities and measures to enhance visibility of the Funds that are planned for the following year. The monitoring committee shall give an opinion on the activities and measures planned for the following year, including on ways to increase the effectiveness of communication activities aimed at the public.]

Article 117 U.K. Information and communication officers and their networks

1. Each Member State shall designate an information and communication officer to coordinate information and communication actions in relation to one or more Funds, including relevant programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal, and shall inform the Commission accordingly.

2. The information and communication officer shall be responsible for the coordination of the national network of Fund communicators, where such a network exists, the creation and maintenance of the website or website portal referred to in Annex XII and the provision of an overview of communication measures undertaken at Member State level.

3. Each managing authority shall designate one person to be responsible for information and communication at operational programme level and shall inform the Commission of those designated. Where appropriate, one person may be designated for several operational programmes.

[F6 4. Union networks comprising the members designated by Member States shall be set up by the Commission to ensure exchange of information on the results of the implementation of the communication strategies, the exchange of experience in implementing the information and communication measures, the exchange of good practices, and to enable joint planning or coordination of communication activities between the Member States and with the Commission where appropriate. The networks shall at least once a year debate and assess the effectiveness of the information and communication measures, and propose recommendations to enhance the outreach and impact of communication activities and to raise awareness about the results and added value of those activities.]

TITLE IV U.K. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Article 118 U.K. Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission

The Funds, taking into account the deductions made in accordance with Article 91(3), may support technical assistance up to a ceiling of 0,35 % of their respective annual allocation.

Article 119 U.K. Technical assistance of the Member States

[F6 1. The amount of the Funds allocated to technical assistance in a Member State shall be limited to 4 % of the total amount of the Funds allocated to operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal.]

The specific allocation for YEI may be taken into account by a Member State in the calculation of the limit to the total amount of the Funds allocated to the technical assistance of the Member State.

2. [F8 Each Fund may support technical assistance operations eligible under any of the other Funds.] Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the allocation for technical assistance from a Fund shall not exceed 10 % of the total allocation of that Fund to operational programmes in a Member State under each category of region, where applicable, of the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

3. By way of derogation from Article 70(1) and (2), technical assistance operations may be implemented outside the programme area, but within the Union, provided that the operations are for the benefit of the operational programme, or, in the case of a technical assistance operational programme, for the other programmes concerned.

[F6 4. In the case of the Structural Funds, where the allocations referred to in paragraph 1 are used to support technical assistance operations altogether relating to more than one category of region, the expenditure relating to the operations may be implemented under a priority axis combining different categories of region and attributed on a pro rata basis taking into account either the respective allocations to the different categories of regions of the operational programme or the allocation under each category of region as a share of the total allocation to the Member State.]

5. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where the total amount of the Funds allocated to a Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal does not exceed EUR 1 000 000 000 the amount allocated to technical assistance may increase up to 6 % of that total amount or EUR 50 000 000, whichever is the lower.

[F7 5a. The assessment of the respect of the percentages shall be carried out at the time of adoption of the operational programme.]

6. Technical assistance shall take the form of a mono-fund priority axis within an operational programme or of a specific operational programme, or both.

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

F7 Inserted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

F8 Deleted by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

TITLE V U.K. FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE FUNDS

Article 120 U.K. Determination of co-financing rates

1. The Commission decision adopting an operational programme shall fix the co-financing rate and the maximum amount of support from Funds for each priority axis. Where a priority axis concerns more than one category of regions or more than one Fund, the Commission decision shall, where necessary, fix the co-financing rate by category of region and Fund.

2. For each priority axis, the Commission decision shall set out whether the co-financing rate for the priority axis is to be applied to:

(a) total eligible expenditure, including public and private expenditure; or

(b) eligible public expenditure.

3. The co-financing rate at the level of each priority axis and, where relevant, by category of region and Fund, of operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be no higher than:

(a) 85 % for the Cohesion Fund;

(b) 85 % for the less developed regions of Member States whose average GDP per capita for the period 2007 - 2009 was below 85 % of the EU-27 average during the same period and for the outermost regions including the additional allocation for outermost regions in accordance with point (e) of Article 92(1) and Article 4(2) of the ETC Regulation;

(c) 80 % for the less developed regions of Member States other than those referred to in point (b), and for all regions whose GDP per capita used as an eligibility criterion for the 2007-2013 programming period was less than 75 % of the average of the EU-25 but whose GDP per capita is above 75 % of the GDP average of the EU-27, as well as for regions defined in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 1083/2006 receiving transitional support for the 2007-2013 programming period;

(d) 60 % for the transition regions other than those referred to in point (c);

(e) 50 % for the more developed regions other than those referred to in point (c).

[F9 For the period from 1 January 2014 until closure of the operational programme the co-financing rate at the level of each priority axis for all operational programmes in Cyprus shall not be higher than 85 %.]

The Commission shall carry out a review to assess the justification for maintaining the co-financing rate, referred to in the second subparagraph, after 30 June 2017 and shall if necessary make a legislative proposal before 30 June 2016.

The co-financing rate at the level of each priority axis of operational programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal shall be no higher than 85 %.

The maximum co-financing rate under points (b), (c), (d) and (e) of the first subparagraph shall be increased for each priority axis implementing the YEI and where a priority axis is dedicated to social innovation or to transnational cooperation, or a combination of both. That increase shall be determined in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.

4. The co-financing rate of the additional allocation in accordance with point (e) of Article 92(1) shall be no higher than 50 % for NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession.

5. The maximum co-financing rate under paragraph 3 at the level of a priority axis shall be increased by ten percentage points, where the whole of a priority axis is delivered through financial instruments, or through community-led local development.

6. The contribution from the Funds for each priority axis shall not be less than 20 % of the eligible public expenditure.

7. A separate priority axis with a co-financing rate of up to 100 % may be established within an operational programme to support operations implemented through financial instruments set up at Union level and managed directly or indirectly by the Commission. Where a separate priority axis is established for this purpose, the support under this axis may not be implemented by any other means.

[F10 8. A separate priority axis with a co-financing rate of up to 95 % may be established within an operational programme to support operations which fulfil all of the following conditions:

(a) the operations are selected by managing authorities in response to major or regional natural disasters as defined in Article 2(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 (2) ;

(b) the operations are aimed at reconstruction in response to the natural disaster; and

(c) the operations are supported under an ERDF investment priority.

The amount allocated to the operations referred to in the first subparagraph shall not exceed 5 % of the total ERDF allocation in a Member State for the 2014-2020 programming period.

By way of derogation from Article 65(9), expenditure for operations under this priority axis shall be eligible from the date when the natural disaster occurred.

Where expenditure in relation to operations referred to in the first subparagraph has been included in a payment application submitted to the Commission before the establishment of the separate priority axis, the Member State shall make the necessary adjustments to the next payment application and, where appropriate, to the next accounts submitted following the adoption of the amendment to the programme.]

Textual Amendments

F9 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2016/2135 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2016 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards certain provisions relating to financial management for certain Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability.

F10 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2017/1199 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2017 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures to provide additional assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters.

Article 121 U.K. Modulation of the co-financing rates

The co-financing rate from the Funds to a priority axis may be modulated to take account of:

(1)

the importance of the priority axis for the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, having regard to the specific gaps to be addressed;

(2)

the protection and improvement of the environment, principally through the application of the precautionary principle, the principle of preventive action and the polluter pays principle;

(3)

the rate of mobilisation of private financing;

(4)

the coverage of areas with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps defined as follows:

(a)

island Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund, and other islands except those on which the capital of a Member State is situated or which have a fixed link to the mainland;

(b)

mountainous areas as defined by the national legislation of the Member State;

(c)

sparsely (i.e. less than 50 inhabitants per square kilometre) and very sparsely (less than 8 inhabitants per square kilometre) populated areas;

(d)

the inclusion of the outermost regions as referred to in Article 349 TFEU.

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1).

(2)

[F10 Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund ( OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3 ).]

Textual Amendments

F10 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2017/1199 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2017 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures to provide additional assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters.