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

CHAPTER III Joint action plan

Article 104 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.

2. The public expenditure allocated to a joint action plan shall be a minimum of EUR 10 000 000 or 20 % of the public support of the operational programme or programmes, whichever is lower. For the purpose of undertaking a pilot project, the minimum public expenditure allocated to one joint action plan for each operational programme may be reduced to EUR 5 000 000.

3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to operations supported under the YEI.

Article 105 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. 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.

Article 106 Content of joint action plans

A joint action plan shall contain:

(1)

an analysis of the development needs and objectives justifying it, taking into account the objectives of the operational programmes and, where applicable, 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)

the framework describing the relationship between the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and the targets for outputs and results, and the projects or types of projects envisaged;

(3)

the common and specific indicators used to monitor outputs and results, where relevant, by priority axis;

(4)

information on its geographic coverage and target groups;

(5)

its expected implementation period;

(6)

an analysis of its effects on the promotion of equality between men and women and the prevention of discrimination;

(7)

an analysis of its effects on the promotion of sustainable development, where appropriate;

(8)

its implementing provisions, including the following:

(a)

the designation of the beneficiary responsible for the implementation of the joint action plan, providing guarantees of its competence in the domain concerned as well as its administrative and financial management capacity;

(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;

(d)

the arrangements ensuring the dissemination of information and communication in relation to the joint action plan and to the Funds;

(9)

its financial arrangements, including the following:

(a)

the costs of achieving milestones, outputs and result targets with reference to point (2), based on the methods set out in Article 67(5) of this Regulation and in Article 14 of the ESF Regulation;

(b)

an indicative schedule of payments to the beneficiary linked to the milestones and targets;

(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).

Article 107 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.

3. The decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall indicate the beneficiary and the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and targets for outputs and results, the costs of achieving those milestones, outputs and result targets, 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.

Article 108 Steering committee and amendment of the joint action plan

1. The Member State or the managing authority shall set up a steering committee for the joint action plan, 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. 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.

Article 109 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. 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.