title: Decision of the European Parliament of 5 May 2010 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008

text:
               25.9.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 252/124

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 5 May 2010
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008
   (2010/510/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008,
   having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008, together with the Centre’s replies (1),
   having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 — C7-0061/2010),
   having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (3), and in particular Article 12a thereof,
   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (4), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,
   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0091/2010),

               1.

               Grants the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2008;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Jerzy BUZEK

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 118.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
    ---documentbreak---

               25.9.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 252/125

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 5 May 2010
   with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008,
   having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008, together with the Centre’s replies (1),
   having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 — C7-0061/2010),
   having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (3), and in particular Article 12a thereof,
   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (4), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,
   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0091/2010),

               A.

               whereas the Court of Auditors states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

               B.

               whereas on 23 April 2009 Parliament granted the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2007 (5), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia, drew attention to observations by the Court of Auditors concerning the high proportion of carry-overs and cancellations, the need to set measurable objectives and indicators in its programming and the need to establish clear links between objectives and the budgetary resources needed to achieve them,

               1.

               Expresses its satisfaction that the Court of Auditors has declared the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 to be legal and regular;

      Performance

               2.

               Congratulates the Centre on its positive statement of assurance from the Court of Auditors in relation to the financial year 2008, not only with regard to the accounts, but also with regard to the underlying transactions; notes that the Centre has made enormous progress with regard to the inventory procedure for identifying, recording and capitalising assets, to documentation on internal control processes and to procurement procedures;

               3.

               Again stresses how important it is for the Centre to set SMART objectives and RACER indicators in its programming so as to assess its achievements; notes, however, the statement by the Centre that it has taken these observations into consideration in its 2009 programme; calls also on the Agency to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results;

               4.

               Welcomes, none the less, the Centre’s intention to introduce a pilot system in 2010 for recording the time spent by each staff member on a Centre project;

               5.

               Calls on the Centre to set out, in a table to be annexed to the Court of Auditors’ next report, a comparison of operations carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess more effectively its performance from one year to the next;

               6.

               Welcomes the close cooperation and the synergies established between the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and the European Training Foundation (ETF), given the two agencies’ related areas of responsibility; calls on the two agencies to include a detailed follow-up report on the cooperation agreement in their 2009 activity reports.

      Budgetary and financial management

               7.

               Draws attention to the fact that the Centre has again carried appropriations forward (25 % of payment appropriations, or EUR 1 400 000); points out that this reveals weaknesses in the programming and monitoring of differentiated appropriations for operating activities;

      Human resources

               8.

               Points out that the Centre employs 128 staff and in 2009 introduced a performance measurement system; expects to be informed of the results of the introduction of that system;

      Internal audit

               9.

               Congratulates the Centre on being the first agency voluntarily to undergo a pilot audit on the ethical framework; notes that this audit was conducted from 16 to 20 February 2009 by a team of three auditors and that the Internal Audit Service (IAS) confirmed that the Centre had developed a good ethical framework;

               10.

               Acknowledges that, since 2006, the Centre has implemented 15 recommendations out of 30 recommended by the IAS; notes that, of the 15 still not implemented, six are considered to be ‘very important’ and mainly relate to human resources management (e.g. staff performance, setting personal objectives and fixing the roles and responsibilities of the Staff Committee); expects progress in this area of fundamental importance to the Centre’s work and asks to be kept informed;

               11.

               Refers for other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 5 May 2010 (6) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

      (1)  OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 118.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

      (5)  OJ L 255, 26.9.2009, p. 141.

      (6)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0139. See page 241 of this Official Journal.


Avis juridique important

|

32003D0662

2003/662/CFSP: Council Decision 2003/662/CFSP of 26 May 2003 concerning the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the participation of the Republic of Turkey in the European Union-led forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Official Journal L 234 , 20/09/2003 P. 0022 - 0022

Council Decision 2003/662/CFSPof 26 May 2003concerning the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the participation of the Republic of Turkey in the European Union-led forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic of MacedoniaTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 24 thereof,Having regard to the recommendation from the Presidency,Whereas:(1) On 27 January 2003, the Council adopted Joint Action 2003/92/CFSP on the European Union military operation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(1).(2) Article 8 of that Joint Action provides that the detailed arrangements regarding the participation of third States shall be the subject of an agreement in conformity with Article 24 of the Treaty on European Union.(3) Following the Council Decision of 18 March 2003 authorising the Secretary-General/High Representative to open negotiations, the Secretary-General/High Representative negotiated an Agreement with the Republic of Turkey on the participation of the Republic of Turkey in the European Union-led forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.(4) This Agreement should be approved,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Article 1The Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the participation of the Republic of Turkey in the European Union-led forces in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is hereby approved on behalf of the European Union.The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.Article 2The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement in order to bind the European Union.Article 3This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.Article 4This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption.Done at Brussels, 26 May 2003.For the CouncilThe PresidentG. Drys(1) OJ L 34, 11.2.2003, p. 26.


Avis juridique important

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31997D0419(01)

Decision of the Court of Justice amending Annex II to the Rules of Procedure (extensions of time limits on account of distance)

Official Journal L 103 , 19/04/1997 P. 0003 - 0003

DECISION OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE amending Annex II to the Rules of Procedure (extensions of time limits on account of distance)THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES.Having regard to Article 81 (2) of the Rules of Procedure,Whereas, by reason of the accession to the European Communities of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, it is necessary to provide for the extension of time limits on account of distance as regards parties habitually resident in the new Member States;Whereas Annex II to the Rules of Procedure, as adopted on 19 June 1991, must therefore be amended,DECIDES:Article 1The third indent of Article 1 of Annex II to the Rules of Procedure shall be replaced by the following:'- for the European territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, for the Kingdom of Spain, for Ireland, for the Hellenic Republic, for the Italian Republic, for the Republic of Austria, for the Portuguese Republic (with the exception of the Azores and Madeira), for the Republic of Finland, for the Kingdom of Sweden and for the United Kingdom: 10 days.`Article 2This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.It shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.Done at Luxembourg on 11 March 1997.


title: EFTA Surveillance Authority Decision No 84/16/COL of 27 April 2016 amending, for the hundredth-and-first time, the procedural and substantive rules in the field of State aid by introducing new Guidelines for the analysis of the compatibility with the functioning of the EEA Agreement of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest [2017/267]

text:
               16.2.2017

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 39/49

         EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY DECISION
   No 84/16/COL
   of 27 April 2016
   amending, for the hundredth-and-first time, the procedural and substantive rules in the field of State aid by introducing new Guidelines for the analysis of the compatibility with the functioning of the EEA Agreement of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest [2017/267]
   THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY (‘THE AUTHORITY’),
   HAVING regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (‘the EEA Agreement’), in particular to Articles 61 to 63 and Protocol 26,
   HAVING regard to the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice (‘the Surveillance and Court Agreement’), in particular to Article 24 and Article 5(2)(b),
   Whereas:
   Under Article 24 of the Surveillance and Court Agreement, the Authority shall give effect to the provisions of the EEA Agreement concerning State aid,
   Under Article 5(2)(b) of the Surveillance and Court Agreement, the Authority shall issue notices or guidelines on matters dealt with in the EEA Agreement, if that Agreement or the Surveillance and Court Agreement expressly so provides or if the Authority considers it necessary,
   On 20 June 2014, the European Commission adopted a communication setting out ‘criteria for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal market of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interests’ (1). The communication applies from 1 July 2014 until 31 December 2020.
   This communication is also of relevance for the European Economic Area,
   Uniform application of the EEA State aid rules is to be ensured throughout the European Economic Area in line with the objective of homogeneity established in Article 1 of the EEA Agreement,
   According to point II under the heading ‘GENERAL’ on page 9 of Annex XV to the EEA Agreement, the Authority, after consultation with the Commission, is to adopt acts corresponding to those adopted by the European Commission,
   HAVING consulted the European Commission,
   HAVING consulted the EFTA States by letter dated 25 January 2016 on the subject,
   HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   The substantive rules in the field of State aid shall be amended by introducing new Guidelines for the analysis of the compatibility with the functioning of the EEA Agreement of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest. The new Guidelines are annexed to this Decision and form an integral part of it.
   Article 2
   Only the English language version of this decision is authentic.

      Done at Brussels, 27 April 2016.

            For the EFTA Surveillance Authority

         Sven Erik SVEDMAN

            President

         Frank BÜCHEL

            College Member

      (1)  OJ C 188, 20.6.2014, p. 4.

      ANNEX

         Guidelines for the analysis of the compatibility with the functioning of the EEA Agreement of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest
          (1)

      CONTENTS

                  1.

               Introduction

                  2.

               Scope of application

                  3.

               Eligibility criteria

                  3.1.

               Definition of a project

                  3.2.

               Common European interest

                  3.2.1.

               General cumulative criteria

                  3.2.2.

               General positive indicators

                  3.2.3.

               Specific criteria

                  3.3.

               Importance of the project

                  4.

               Compatibility criteria

                  4.1.

               Necessity and proportionality of the aid

                  4.2.

               Prevention of undue distortions of competition and balancing test

                  4.3.

               Transparency

                  5.

               Final provisions

                  5.1.

               Notification obligation

                  5.2.

               Ex post evaluation and reporting

                  5.3.

               Entry into force, validity and revision

            Eligible costs
      1.   Introduction

                  1.

                  This Chapter of the Guidelines gives guidance on the assessment under State aid rules of public financing of important projects of common European interest (IPCEIs).

                  2.

                  IPCEIs may represent a very important contribution to economic growth, jobs and competitiveness for the European Economic Area (EEA) industry and economy in view of their positive spillover effects on the internal market and the society.

                  3.

                  IPCEIs make it possible to bring together knowledge, expertise, financial resources and economic actors throughout the EEA, so as to overcome important market or systemic failures and societal challenges which could not otherwise be addressed. They are designed to bring together public and private sectors to undertake large-scale projects that provide significant benefits to the EEA and the citizens of the Contracting Parties.

                  4.

                  IPCEIs can be relevant for all policies and actions that fulfil common European objectives, in particular as regards the Europe 2020 (2) objectives, the European Union's flagship initiatives and key areas for economic growth such as the Key Enabling Technologies (3) (KETs).

                  5.

                  The State Aid Modernisation initiative (SAM) (4) calls for State aid to be directed towards objectives of common European interests in line with the priorities of the Europe 2020 agenda, so as to address market failures or other important systemic failures that hinder the promotion of growth and jobs and the development of an integrated, dynamic and competitive internal market. The deployment of IPCEIs often requires a significant participation from public authorities since the market would not otherwise finance such projects. In case public financing of such projects constitutes State aid, this communication sets out the applicable rules so as to ensure that the level playing field in the internal market is preserved.

                  6.

                  The SAM constitutes a good opportunity to update and consolidate the existing guidance in one single document so as to bring it into line with the Europe 2020 objectives and the SAM goals and to extend it to other fields where it could be of application. These Guidelines therefore replace any existing provisions on IPCEI. In this way, these Guidelines provide the Contracting Parties with dedicated and cross-disciplinary guidance aimed at encouraging the development of important collaborative projects that promote the common European interests.

                  7.

                  Article 61(3)(b) of the EEA Agreement provides that aid to promote the execution of an important project of common European interest may be considered to be compatible with the functioning of the EEA Agreement. Accordingly, these Guidelines set out guidance as to the criteria the EFTA Surveillance Authority (‘the Authority’) will apply for the assessment of State aid to promote the execution of IPCEIs. They first define their scope and then provide a list of criteria which the Authority will use to assess the nature and the importance of such projects for the purposes of the application of Article 61(3)(b) of the EEA Agreement. They then explain how the Authority will assess the compatibility of public financing of IPCEIs under State aid rules.

                  8.

                  These Guidelines do not exclude the possibility that aid to promote the execution of IPCEIs may also be found compatible with the functioning of the EEA Agreement on the basis of other provisions, notably Article 61(3)(c) of the EEA Agreement and their implementing rules. The State aid framework has been modernised with a view to offering the Contracting Parties greater possibilities to subsidise important projects which remedy market failures and cohesion challenges in different areas in order to promote sustainable growth and jobs. However, those provisions may not fully address the relevance, specificities and features of IPCEIs, which may require dedicated eligibility, compatibility and procedural provisions, which are set out in these Guidelines.

            2.   Scope of application

                  9.

                  These Guidelines apply to IPCEIs in all sectors of economic activity.

                  10.

                  These Guidelines shall not apply to:

                              (a)

                              measures involving aid to undertakings in difficulty, as defined by the rescue and restructuring guidelines (5) or any successor guidelines, as amended or replaced;

                              (b)

                              measures involving aid to undertakings which are subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Authority decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the functioning of the EEA Agreement;

                              (c)

                              aid measures which entail by themselves, by the conditions attached to them or by their financing method a non-severable violation of EEA law (6), in particular:

                                          —

                                          aid measures where the granting of aid is subject to the obligation for the beneficiary to have its headquarters in the relevant Contracting Party or to be predominantly established in that Contracting Party,

                                          —

                                          aid measures where the granting of aid is subject to the obligation for the beneficiary to use nationally produced goods or national services,

                                          —

                                          aid measures restricting the possibility for the beneficiary to exploit the research, development and innovation results in other Contracting Parties.

            3.   Eligibility criteria

                  11.

                  In determining whether a project falls within Article 61(3)(b) of the EEA Agreement, the following criteria will apply:

            3.1.   Definition of a project

                  12.

                  The aid proposal concerns a single project which is clearly defined in respect of its objectives as well as the terms of its implementation, including its participants and its funding (7).

                  13.

                  The Authority may also consider eligible an ‘integrated project’, that is to say, a group of single projects inserted in a common structure, roadmap or programme aiming at the same objective and based on a coherent systemic approach. The individual components of the integrated project may relate to separate levels of the supply chain but must be complementary and necessary for the achievement of the important European objective (8).

            3.2.   Common European interest

      3.2.1.   General cumulative criteria

                  14.

                  The project must contribute in a concrete, clear and identifiable manner to one or more common European objectives and must have a significant impact on competitiveness of the EEA, sustainable growth, addressing societal challenges or value creation across the EEA.

                  15.

                  The project must represent an important contribution to the common European objectives, for instance by being of major importance for the Europe 2020 strategy, the European Research Area, the European strategy for KETs (9), the Energy Strategy for Europe (10), the 2030 framework for climate and energy policies (11), the European Energy Security Strategy (12), the Electronics Strategy for Europe, the Trans-European Transport and Energy networks, the Union's flagship initiatives such as the Innovation Union (13), Digital Agenda for Europe (14), the Resource Efficient Europe (15), or the Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era (16).

                  16.

                  The project must normally involve more than one Contracting Party (17) and its benefits must not be confined to the financing Contracting Parties, but extend to a wide part of the EEA. The benefits of the project must be clearly defined in a concrete and identifiable manner (18).

                  17.

                  The benefits of the project must not be limited to the undertakings or to the sector concerned, but must be of wider relevance and application to the European economy or society through positive spillover effects (such as having systemic effects on multiple levels of the value chain, or up- or down-stream markets, or having alternative uses in other sectors or modal shift) which are clearly defined in a concrete and identifiable manner.

                  18.

                  The project must involve co-financing by the beneficiary.

                  19.

                  The project must respect the principle of the phasing out of environmental harmful subsidies, as recalled by the Resource Efficiency Roadmap (19).

            3.2.2.   General positive indicators

                  20.

                  In addition to the cumulative criteria in Section 3.2.1, the Authority will take a more favourable approach where:

                              (a)

                              the project has been designed so as to make it possible for all interested Contracting Parties to participate, having regard to the type of project, the objective pursued and its financing needs;

                              (b)

                              the design of the project involves the European Commission or any legal body to which the European Commission has delegated its powers, such as the European Investment Bank;

                              (c)

                              the selection of the project involves the European Commission or any legal body to which the European Commission has delegated its power, provided that this body is acting in that purpose as an implementing structure;

                              (d)

                              the governance structure of the project involves the European Commission — or any legal body to which the European Commission has delegated its powers — and several Contracting Parties;

                              (e)

                              the project involves important collaborative interactions in terms of number of partners, involvement of organisations of different sectors, or the involvement of undertakings of different sizes;

                              (f)

                              the project involves co-financing by an EFTA or European Union fund (20).

            3.2.3.   Specific criteria

                  21.

                  R & D&I projects must be of a major innovative nature or constitute an important added value in terms of R & D&I in light of the state of the art in the sector concerned.

                  22.

                  Projects comprising of industrial deployment must allow for the development of a new product or service with high research and innovation content and/or the deployment of a fundamentally innovative production process. Regular upgrades without an innovative dimension of existing facilities and the development of newer versions of existing products do not qualify as IPCEI.

                  23.

                  Environmental, energy or transport projects must either be of great importance for the environmental, energy, including security of energy supply, or transport strategy of the Union or contribute significantly to the internal market, including, but not limited to those specific sectors.

            3.3.   Importance of the project

                  24.

                  In order to qualify as an IPCEI, a project must be important quantitatively or qualitatively. It should either be particularly large in size or scope and/or imply a very considerable level of technological or financial risk.

            4.   Compatibility criteria

                  25.

                  When assessing the compatibility with the functioning of the EEA Agreement of aid to promote the execution of an IPCEI on the basis of Article 61(3)(b) of the EEA Agreement, the Authority will take into account the following criteria (21).

                  26.

                  The Authority will carry out a balancing test to assess whether the expected positive effects outweigh the possible negative effects as set out below.

                  27.

                  In view of the nature of the project, the Authority may consider that the presence of a market failure or other important systemic failures, as well as the contribution to a common European interest, is presumed where the project fulfils the eligibility criteria set out in Section 3 above.

            4.1.   Necessity and proportionality of the aid

                  28.

                  The aid must not subsidise the costs of a project that an undertaking would anyhow incur and must not compensate for the normal business risk of an economic activity. Without the aid the project's realisation should be impossible, or it should be realised in a smaller size or scope or in a different manner that would significantly restrict its expected benefits (22). Aid will only be considered proportionate if the same result could not be achieved with less aid.

                  29.

                  The Contracting Party must provide the Authority with adequate information concerning the aided project as well as a comprehensive description of the counterfactual scenario which corresponds to the situation where no aid is awarded by any Contracting Party. The counterfactual scenario may consist in the absence of an alternative project or in a clearly defined and sufficiently predictable alternative project considered by the beneficiary in its internal decision-making, and may relate to an alternative project that is wholly or partly carried out outside the EEA.

                  30.

                  In the absence of an alternative project, the Authority will verify that the aid amount does not exceed the minimum necessary for the aided project to be sufficiently profitable, for example by making possible to achieve an IRR corresponding to the sector or firm specific benchmark or hurdle rate. Normal rates of return required by the beneficiary in other investment projects of a similar kind, its cost of capital as a whole or returns commonly observed in the industry concerned may also be used for this purpose. All relevant expected costs and benefits must be considered over the lifetime of the project.

                  31.

                  The maximum aid level will be determined with regard to the identified funding gap in relation to the eligible costs. If justified by the funding gap analysis, the aid intensity could reach up to 100 % of the eligible costs. The funding gap refers to the difference between the positive and negative cash flows over the lifetime of the investment, discounted to their current value on the basis of an appropriate discount factor reflecting the rate of return necessary for the beneficiary to carry out the project, notably in view of the risks involved. The eligible costs are those laid down in the Appendix (23).

                  32.

                  Where it is shown, for example by means of internal company documents, that the aid beneficiary faces a clear choice between carrying out either an aided project or an alternative one without aid, the Authority will compare the expected net present values of the investment in the aided project and the counterfactual project, account being taken of the probabilities of the different business scenarios occurring.

                  33.

                  In its analysis, the Authority will take into consideration the following elements:

                              (a)

                              :

                              specification of intended change

                              :

                              the change in behaviour which is expected to result from the State aid, that is to say whether a new project is triggered, or the size, scope or speed of a project is enhanced, has to be well specified by the Contracting Party. The change of behaviour has to be identified by comparing what would be the expected outcome and level of intended activity with and without aid. The difference between the two scenarios shows the impact of the aid measure and its incentive effect;

                              (b)

                              :

                              level of profitability

                              :

                              where a project would not in itself be sufficiently profitable for a private undertaking to undertake, but would generate important benefits for the society, it is more likely that the aid has an incentive effect.

                  34.

                  In order to address actual or potential direct or indirect distortions of international trade, the Authority may take account of the fact that, directly or indirectly, competitors located outside the EEA have received (in the last three years) or are going to receive, aid of an equivalent intensity for similar projects. However, where distortions of international trade are likely to occur after more than three years, given the particular nature of the sector in question, the reference period may be extended accordingly. If at all possible, the Contracting Party concerned will provide the Authority with sufficient information to enable it to assess the situation, in particular the need to take account of the competitive advantage enjoyed by a third country competitor. If the Authority does not have evidence concerning the awarded or proposed aid, it may also base its decision on circumstantial evidence.

                  35.

                  When gathering evidence, the Authority may use its investigative powers (24).

                  36.

                  The choice of the aid instrument must be made with a view to the market failure or other important systemic failures which it seeks to address. For instance, where the underlying problem is lack of access to finance, Contracting Parties should normally resort to aid in the form of liquidity support, such as loans or guarantees (25). Where it is also necessary to provide the undertaking with a certain degree of risk-sharing, a repayable advance should normally be the aid instrument of choice. Repayable aid instruments will generally be considered as a positive indicator.

                  37.

                  The energy security and energy efficiency objectives must be taken into account in the analysis where relevant.

                  38.

                  The Authority will consider more favourably projects that include a significant own contribution by the beneficiaries or by independent private investors. Contribution of tangible and intangible assets, as well as land, shall be accounted at market price.

                  39.

                  The selection of beneficiaries through a competitive, transparent and non-discriminatory tender will be considered as a positive indicator.

            4.2.   Prevention of undue distortions of competition and balancing test

                  40.

                  The Contracting Party should provide evidence that the proposed aid measure constitutes the appropriate policy instrument to address the objective of the project. An aid measure will not be considered appropriate if other less distortive policy instruments or other less distortive types of aid instruments make it possible to achieve the same result.

                  41.

                  For the aid to be compatible, the negative effects of the aid measure in terms of distortions of competition and impact on trade between Contracting Parties must be limited and outweighed by the positive effects in terms of contribution to the objective of the common European interest.

                  42.

                  In assessing the negative effects of the aid measure, the Authority will focus its analysis on the foreseeable impact the aid may have on competition between undertakings in the product markets concerned, including up- or down-stream markets, and on the risk of overcapacity.

                  43.

                  The Authority will assess the risk of market foreclosure and dominance, in particular in case of absence or limited dissemination of the research results. Projects involving the construction of an infrastructure (26) must ensure open and non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure and non-discriminatory pricing (27).

                  44.

                  The Authority will assess the potential negative effects on trade, including the risk of a subsidy race between Contracting Parties that may arise in particular with respect to the choice of a location.

            4.3.   Transparency

                  45.

                  Contracting Parties shall ensure the publication of the following information on a comprehensive State aid website, at national or regional level:

                              (a)

                              the text of the aid measure and its implementing provisions, or a link to it;

                              (b)

                              the identity of the granting authority or authorities;

                              (c)

                              the identity of the individual beneficiary, the form and amount of the aid to each beneficiary, the date of granting, the type of undertaking (SME/large undertaking); the region in which the beneficiary is located (at NUTS level II); and the principal economic sector in which the beneficiary undertaking has its activities (at NACE group level) (28).

                  46.

                  Such requirement can be waived with respect to individual aid awards below EUR 500 000. Such information must be published after the decision to grant the aid has been taken, must be kept for at least 10 years and must be available to the general public without restriction (29). Contracting Parties will not be required to provide the abovementioned information before 1 July 2016.

            5.   Final provisions

      5.1.   Notification obligation

                  47.

                  According to Article 1(3) in Part I of Protocol 3 of the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice, Contracting Parties must inform the Authority in advance of any plans to grant or alter State aid including aid for an IPCEI.

                  48.

                  Contracting Parties involved in the same IPCEI are invited, whenever possible, to submit to the Authority a common notification.

            5.2.   Ex post evaluation and reporting

                  49.

                  The execution of the project must be subject to regular reporting. Where appropriate, the Authority may ask for an ex post evaluation to be conducted.

            5.3.   Entry into force, validity and revision

                  50.

                  These Guidelines will be applied from date of adoption until 31 December 2020.

                  51.

                  The Authority will apply the principles set out in these Guidelines to all notified aid projects in respect of which it is called upon to take a decision after the Guidelines have been published on the Authority's website, even where the projects were notified prior to its publication.

                  52.

                  In line with the Chapter on applicable rules for the assessment of unlawful State aid, in Part II of the State aid Guidelines (30), in the case of non-notified aid, the Authority will apply these Guidelines if the aid was granted after its entry into force, and the rules in force at the time when the aid was granted in all other cases.

                  53.

                  The Authority may decide to amend these Guidelines at any time it is necessary for reasons associated with competition policy or to take account of other policies, international commitments, developments in the markets, or for any other justified reason.

         (1)  These guidelines correspond to the European Commission's communication on criteria for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal market of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest, published 20 June 2014 (OJ C 188, 20.6.2014, p. 4).

         (2)  Communication from the Commission, Europe 2020, ‘A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, COM(2010) 2020 final, 3 March 2010.

         (3)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — ‘A European strategy for Key Enabling Technologies — A bridge to growth and jobs’, COM(2012) 341 final, 26 June 2012.

         (4)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — EU State Aid Modernisation (SAM), COM(2012) 209 final, 8 May 2012.

         (5)  Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty, as adopted by Decision No 321/14/COL (OJ L 271, 16.10.2015, p. 35 and EEA Supplement No 62, 15.10.2015, p. 1). As explained in paragraph 23 of those guidelines, given that its very existence is in danger, a firm in difficulty cannot be considered an appropriate vehicle for promoting other public policy objectives until such time that its viability is assured.

         (6)  See for instance Case C-156/98 Germany v Commission EU:C:2000:467, paragraph 78 and Case C-333/07 Régie Networks v Rhône-Alpes Bourgogne EU:C:2008:764, paragraphs 94-116.

         (7)  In the case of research and development, when two or more projects are not clearly separable from each other and, in particular when they do not have independent probabilities of technological success, they must be considered as a single project. Aid for a project that merely leads to a change in the location of the project within the EEA without changing the nature, size or scope of the project, will not be considered compatible.

         (8)  Hereafter a single project and an integrated project are referred to as a ‘project’.

         (9)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — ‘A European strategy for Key Enabling Technologies — A bridge to growth and jobs’, COM(2012) 341 final, 26 June 2012.

         (10)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘Energy 2020 — A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy’, COM(2010) 639 final, 10 November 2010.

         (11)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030’, COM(2014) 15 final, 22 January 2014.

         (12)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, ‘European Energy Security Strategy’, COM(2014) 330 final, 28 May 2014.

         (13)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative — Innovation Union’, COM(2010) 546 final, 6 October 2010.

         (14)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’, COM(2010) 245 final, 26 August 2010, as recognised in the resolution from the 37th Meeting of the EEA Joint Parliamentary Committee on 26 October 2011.

         (15)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘A resource-efficient Europe — Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy’, COM(2011) 21, 26 January 2011.

         (16)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era — Putting Competitiveness and Sustainability as the Centre Stage’, COM(2010) 614 final, 28 October 2010.

         (17)  With the exception of interconnected research infrastructures and TEN-T projects that are of fundamentally transnational importance because they are part of a physically connected cross-border network or are essential to enhance cross-border traffic management or interoperability.

         (18)  The mere fact that the project is carried out by undertakings in different countries, or that a research infrastructure is subsequently used by undertakings established in different EEA Member States, is not sufficient for a project to qualify as an IPCEI. The Court of Justice has stated that a project may be described as being of common European interest when it forms part of a transnational European programme supported jointly by a number of governments of the EEA Member States, or arises from concerted action by a number of EEA Member States to combat a common threat. Joined Cases C-62/87 and 72/87 Exécutif régional wallon and SA Glaverbel v Commission EU:C:1988:132, paragraphs 22-23.

         (19)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, ‘Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe’, COM(2011) 571 final, 20 September 2011.

         (20)  EFTA or European Union funding centrally managed by the institutions, agencies, joint undertakings or other bodies of the EEA or European Union that is not directly or indirectly under the control of the Contracting Parties does not constitute State aid.

         (21)  According to case law, the Authority enjoys discretion as regards the assessment of the compatibility of IPCEIs. Joined Cases C-62/87 and 72/87, Exécutif regional wallon and SA Glaverbel v Commission [1988] ECR 1573, paragraph 21.

         (22)  The aid application must precede the starts of the works, which is either the start of construction works on the investment or the first firm commitment to order equipment or other commitment that makes the investment irreversible, whichever is the first in time. Buying of land and preparatory works such as obtaining permits and conducting preliminary feasibility studies are not considered as start of works.

         (23)  In case of an integrated project, the eligible costs must be detailed at the level of each individual project.

         (24)  See Article 1(3) of Council Regulation (EU) No 734/2013 of 22 July 2013, amending Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (OJ L 204, 31.7.2013, p. 15). At the time of the adoption of these guidelines, Regulation (EU) No 734/2013 was under consideration for incorporation into the EEA Agreement. Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 was incorporated into the EEA Agreement by Joint Committee Decision No 164/2001 (OJ L 65, 7.3.2002, p. 46 and EEA Supplement No 13, 7.3.2002, p. 26).

         (25)  Aid in the form of guarantees must be limited in time, and aid in the form of loans must be subject to repayment periods.

         (26)  For avoidance of doubt, pilot lines are not considered as infrastructures.

         (27)  Where the project involves an energy infrastructure, it shall be subject to the tariff and access regulation and to the unbundling requirements according to internal market legislation.

         (28)  With the exception of business secrets and other confidential information in duly justified cases and subject to the Authority's agreement (Chapter on professional secrecy in State aid decisions, Decision No 15/04/COL, published in OJ L 154, 8.6.2006, p. 27 and EEA Supplement No 29, 8.6.2006, p. 1).

         (29)  This information shall be published within 6 months from the date of granting. In case of unlawful aid, Contracting Parties will be required to ensure the publication of this information ex post, at least within 6 months from the date of the Authority's decision. The information shall be available in a format which allows data to be searched, extracted, and easily published on the internet, for instance in CSV or XML format.

         (30)  Decision No 154/07/COL (OJ L 73, 19.3.2009, p. 23 and EEA Supplement No 15, 19.3.2009, p. 1).

         Appendix

            Eligible costs

                     (a)

                     Feasibility studies, including preparatory technical studies, and the costs of obtaining the permissions necessary for the realisation of the project.

                     (b)

                     Costs of instruments and equipment (including installations and transport vehicles) to the extent and for the period used for the project. If such instruments and equipment are not used for their full life for the project, only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project, as calculated on the basis of good accounting practice, are considered as eligible.

                     (c)

                     Costs of the acquisition (or construction) of buildings, infrastructure and land, to the extent and for the period used for the project. Where these costs are determined with regard to the commercial transfer value or the actually incurred capital costs, as opposed to the depreciation costs, the residual value of the land, building or infrastructure should be deducted from the funding gap, either ex ante or ex post.

                     (d)

                     Costs of other materials, supplies and similar products necessary for the project.

                     (e)

                     Costs for obtaining, validating and defending patents and other intangible assets. Costs of contractual research, knowledge and patents bought or licensed from outside sources at arm's length conditions, as well as costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively for the project.

                     (f)

                     Personnel and administrative costs (including overheads) directly incurred for the R & D&I activities, including those R & D&I activities related to first industrial deployment (1), or in the case of an infrastructure project, incurred during the construction of the infrastructure.

                     (g)

                     In case of aid to a project of first industrial deployment, the capital and operating expenditures (CAPEX and OPEX), as long as the industrial deployment follows on from an R & D&I activity (2) and itself contains a very important R & D&I component which constitutes an integral and necessary element for the successful implementation of the project. The operating expenditures must be related to such component of the project.

                     (h)

                     Other costs may be accepted if justified, and where they are inextricably linked to the realisation of the project, to the exclusion of operating costs not covered by point (g).

            (1)  First industrial deployment refers to the upscaling of pilot facilities, or to the first-in-kind equipment and facilities which cover the steps subsequent to the pilot line including the testing phase, but neither mass production nor commercial activities.

            (2)  The first industrial deployment does not need to be carried out by the same entity that carried out the R & D&I activity, as long as the former acquires the rights to use the results from the previous R & D&I activity, and the R & D&I activity and the first industrial deployment are both covered by the project and are notified together.


title: Decision (EU) 2015/2331 of the European Central Bank of 4 December 2015 on the approval of the volume of coin issuance in 2016 (ECB/2015/42)

text:
               12.12.2015

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 328/121

         DECISION (EU) 2015/2331 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
   of 4 December 2015
   on the approval of the volume of coin issuance in 2016 (ECB/2015/42)
   THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 128(2) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               The European Central Bank (ECB) has the exclusive right since 1 January 1999 to approve the volume of coins issued by the Member States whose currency is the euro.

               (2)

               The 19 Member States whose currency is the euro have submitted to the ECB for approval their estimates of the volume of euro coins to be issued in 2016, supplemented by explanatory notes on the forecasting methodology.

               (3)

               As the right of Member States to issue euro coins is subject to approval by the ECB of the volume of the issue, the volumes approved by the ECB may not be surpassed by the Member States without prior approval by the ECB,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Approval of the volume of euro coins to be issued in 2016
   The ECB hereby approves the volume of euro coins to be issued by the Member States whose currency is the euro in 2016 as set out in the following table:

               (EUR million)

               Issuance of coins intended for circulation and issuance of collector coins (not intended for circulation) in 2016

               Belgium

               80,6

               Germany

               667,5

               Estonia

               10,3

               Ireland

               38,8

               Greece

               79,5

               Spain

               276,4

               France

               266,0

               Italy

               35,0

               Cyprus

               12,1

               Latvia

               20,0

               Lithuania

               32,3

               Luxembourg

               19,1

               Malta

               9,9

               Netherlands

               52,5

               Austria

               260,0

               Portugal

               53,4

               Slovenia

               30,0

               Slovakia

               17,0

               Finland

               45,0

         Article 2
   Taking effect
   This Decision shall take effect on the day of its notification to the addressees.
   Article 3
   Addressees
   This Decision is addressed to the Member States whose currency is the euro.

      Done at Frankfurt am Main, 4 December 2015.

            The President of the ECB

         Mario DRAGHI


title: 2011/595/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 10 May 2011 on the closure of the accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2009

text:
               27.9.2011

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 250/205

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 10 May 2011
   on the closure of the accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2009
   (2011/595/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2009,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2009, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

               —

               having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 15 February 2011 (05892/2011 — C7-0052/2011),

               —

               having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

               —

               having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2062/94 of 18 July 1994 establishing a European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (3), and in particular Article 14 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (4), and in particular Article 94 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

               —

               having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0104/2011),

               1.

               Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2009;

               2.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision to the Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Jerzy BUZEK

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ C 338, 14.12.2010, p. 46.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 216, 20.8.1994, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.


title: 2013/558/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 17 April 2013 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011

text:
               16.11.2013

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 308/169

      DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

   of 17 April 2013
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011
   (2013/558/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011, together with the Centre’s replies (1),

               —

               having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),

               —

               having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

               —

               having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 of 28 November 1994 setting up a Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union (4), and in particular Article 14 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

               —

               having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0069/2013),

               1.

               Grants the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2011;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Martin SCHULZ

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 12.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 314, 7.12.1994, p. 1.

      (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

      of 17 April 2013
      with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

                  —

                  having regard to the final annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011,

                  —

                  having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2011, together with the Centre’s replies (1),

                  —

                  having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),

                  —

                  having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

                  —

                  having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 of 28 November 1994 setting up a Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union (4), and in particular Article 14 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

                  —

                  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0069/2013),

                  A.

                  whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (‘the Centre’) for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

                  B.

                  whereas on 10 May 2012, Parliament granted the Director of the Centre discharge for implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2010 (6), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia:

                              —

                              called on the Centre to ensure compliance with Article 60 of its Financial Regulation by establishing financing decisions for operational expenditure; asked the Centre, in particular, to establish stronger controls in the procurement planning process,

                              —

                              called on the Centre to analyse the data flow and tools used for budget planning and establish controls; noted, in that respect, that the Centre’s budget planning is based on Excel tools and manual or system-based controls of data which could result in calculation errors and wrong expenditure planning and ultimately have a negative impact on the Centre’s pricing,

                              —

                              noted that out of the 12 ‘very important’ recommendations from the Internal Audit Service (IAS), the Centre rejected the recommendation on financial reporting; called on the Centre to inform the discharge authority about the reasons for that decision,

                  C.

                  whereas the Centre’s final budget for 2011 was EUR 51 299 000, compared to EUR 55 928 077 in 2010, which represents a decrease of 8,27 %,

         Budgetary and financial management

                  1.

                  Notes that the Centre’s budget includes revenue comprising payments made by the bodies for which the Centre works and by Union institutions and bodies with which collaboration has been agreed in return for work performed, including inter-institutional activities, and any other revenue;

                  2.

                  Recalls that the Centre’s 2011 budget amounted to EUR 51 299 000 and that the 2011 budget outturn decreased to EUR 1 201 339,13 in 2011, as compared to EUR 8 319 397,02 in 2010, which represents a decrease of 85,56 %; notes, moreover, from the Court of Auditors’ report that the decrease mainly resulted from a 15 % decrease in revenues, reflecting the Centre’s new pricing policy, which aims to align the prices of products with their costs;

                  3.

                  Acknowledges from the Court of Auditors’ report that the accumulated budget surplus decreased from EUR 9 231 709,81 in 2010 to EUR 2 973 348,94 in 2011 and that that reduction is the net effect of the 2011 budget surplus and allocations to reserves for pricing stability and for exceptional investments;

                  4.

                  Notes from the Centre’s Annual Activity Report (AAR) that in its original budget for 2011, EUR 46 956 800 was the subject of an amending budget, adopted by the Management Board on 13 October 2011; acknowledges, in particular, that the purpose of the amending budget was twofold:

                              —

                              to include the budgetary surplus from previous years, namely EUR 9 231 709,81, and to use that surplus to create two exceptional reserves, one for the development of a more effective translation demand management tool (E-CdT programme) (EUR 4 325 709,81) and the other reserve to allow the Centre to keep prices stable in 2012 and 2013 (EUR 4 906 000),

                              —

                              to rebalance the budget following a significant decrease in client forecasts;

                  5.

                  Notes, moreover, that the amount of the reserve for stability pricing was lower than the one proposed because EUR 1,8 million of the surplus had to be used to compensate the fall in revenue from clients already in 2011, and therefore the final amount of the reserve was only EUR 7,4 million;

         Commitments

                  6.

                  Establishes from the AAR that the total commitments under Title I reached 95,12 % for 2011, which represents a significant improvement compared to 2010, when only 91,5 % of the budget was consumed (85 % in 2009); notes, moreover, that the carry-overs are limited, representing only 1,32 % of commitments;

                  7.

                  Acknowledges from the AAR that the total commitments under Title II reached 94,44 % for 2011, which represents a considerable improvement compared to 2010, when only 86,30 % of the budget was committed (88 % in 2009);

                  8.

                  Takes note from the AAR that for Title III, 99,4 % of the budget was committed by the year end 2011, compared to 80,5 % in 2010, that high level of budget execution being the result of cuts made in the amending budget;

         Human resources

                  9.

                  Acknowledges from the AAR that by the end of 2011, 205 posts of the establishment plan had been filled, which represents 91,1 % of the anticipated total number; notes, moreover, that in line with the Centre’s continuous efforts to optimise working methods and reduce costs, a new screening of all the Centre’s posts was performed in 2011 which led to a reduction of five posts as of 2012 (by considering that reduction, the establishment plan would be 93,18 % filled);

                  10.

                  Observes that during the year, four staff members used the opportunity of internal staff mobility and changed jobs at the Centre;

         Data protection

                  11.

                  Takes note that in 2011, in order to increase the independence of the function, the Centre appointed a new Data Protection Officer; notes that the number of prior check notifications made to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) in 2011 was four, namely video surveillance, the disciplinary procedure, anti-harassment policy and the certification procedure; notes, moreover, that for video surveillance, the case was closed with a favourable opinion, for the disciplinary and anti-harassment procedures, complementary information was sent to the EDPS at his request and for certification, the EDPS feedback is still pending; calls on the Centre to keep the discharge authority informed about the state of play of the notifications;

         Procurement procedures

                  12.

                  Takes note that in compliance with Article 60 of its Financial Regulation, in 2010 the Centre established the Procurement Plan 2011 which serves as the Financing Decision of the Centre’s Management Board; notes, moreover, that the plan is an integral part of the Centre’s Work Programme 2011, which was approved by the Management Board on 27 October 2010;

         Accounting system

                  13.

                  Acknowledges that in May 2012, accrual-based accounting, the accounting system used by the Commission for budgetary accounting, has been implemented in the Centre and that the Accountant will finalise the validation of accounting system in the first quarter of 2013; calls on the Centre to inform the discharge authority of the state of play of the validation of the accounting system;

                  14.

                  Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its Resolution of 17 April 2013 (7) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

         (1)  OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 12.

         (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

         (3)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

         (4)  OJ L 314, 7.12.1994, p. 1.

         (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

         (6)  OJ L 286, 17.10.2012, p. 141.

         (7)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0134 (see page 374 of this Official Journal).


title: 72/431/EEC: Council Decision of 19 December 1972 on the financing by the Community of certain expenditure relating to food aid for the Republics of Upper Volta, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Chad

text:
78                                  Official Journal of the European Communities
28.12.72                            Official Journal of the European Communities                    No L 291 /163
                                                COUNCIL DECISION
                                                 of 19 December 1972
            on the financing by the Community of certain expenditure relating to food
                   aid for the Republics of Upper Volta, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Chad
                                                      (72/43 1/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNI                            cereals granted to the Republics of Mali, Niger,
TIES ,                                                          Senegal and Chad as food aid, under the 1971/72
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                    programme, Community finance shall extend
European Economic Community;                                    to expenditure covering:
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC)                       — carriage of the products to the frontier of
No 1703/721 of 3 August 1972, amending                              the country of destination;
Regulation (EEC) No 2052/69 as regards the                      — carriage of the products from the frontier
financing by the Community of expenditure                           of the country of destination to the places
arising out of the implementation of the Food                       of destination, such expenditure to be
Aid Convention of 1967 and laying down the                          covered in part by Community finance, in
rules for the financing by the Community of                         the form of payment to these countries of a
expenditure arising out of the Food Aid Con                        standard contribution of 10 units of account
vention of 1971 , and in particular Articles 8 (1)                  per ton .
and 10 ( 1) thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Com                                         Article 2
mission;
Whereas the Republic of Mali, Niger, Senegal                    Within the framework of the Community's
and Chad have informed the Community that                       food aid project concerning 5000 metric tons
as a result of particularly unfavourable climatic               of cereals granted to the Republic of Upper
conditions, the state of their food supplies and                Volta, under the 1971/72 programme, Com
their economic and financial situation have
                                                                munity finance shall extend to expenditure
been gravely jeopardised; whereas therefore                     covering:
it appears necessary, in view of these difficul
ties, for the Community to bear the cost of                     — for carriage of the whole of this quantity
carriage to distribution points of the quantities                   of the products to the frontier of the country
of products allocated to these countries under                      of destination;
the 1971/72 programme;                                          — the carriage of 2500 metric tons of the
Whereas the Republic of Upper Volta has also                        products from the frontier of the country
made known that it is in a similar plight;                          of destination to the places of destination,
whereas, therefore, it appears necessary that                       such expenditure to be covered in part by
the Community should also bear the cost of                          Community finance in the form of a pay
the carriage to distribution points of the quanti                  ment to that country of a standard con
ties of products allocated to the Republic of                       tribution of 10 units of account per metric
Upper Volta under the 1971/72 programme;                            ton .
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :                                        Done at Brussels , 19 December 1972.
                        Article 1                                                         For the Council
                                                                                The President
Within the framework of Community food
aid projects concerning 29 555 metric tons of                                              T. WESTERTERP
1   OJ No L 180 , 8.8.1972, p . 1 .


title: 2014/303/EU: Decision of the European Central Bank of 20 February 2014 on the prohibition of monetary financing and the remuneration of government deposits by national central banks (ECB/2014/8)

text:
               28.5.2014

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 159/54

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
   of 20 February 2014
   on the prohibition of monetary financing and the remuneration of government deposits by national central banks

      (ECB/2014/8)

      (2014/303/EU)

   THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular of the second indent of Article 132(1) thereof,
   Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular the second indent of Article 34.1 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Pursuant to Article 271(d) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Article 35.6 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank, in conjunction with the ninth recital of Council Regulation (EC) No 3603/93 (1), the Governing Council is mandated to assess compliance by national central banks (NCBs) with their obligations under the Treaties. To that effect the Governing Council monitors compliance of NCBs with the prohibition on monetary financing as laid down in Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This Decision aims to clarify the criteria that the European Central Bank (ECB) will apply regarding the remuneration of deposits held by governments and public authorities with their central bank in relation to the Treaty prohibition of monetary financing, for the purposes of the abovementioned Governing Council's monitoring role.

               (2)

               To monitor compliance with the monetary financing prohibition laid down in Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ECB will take into account the remuneration of government deposits, which should not be higher than a remuneration based on the relevant money market rates. This Decision specifies the market rates that will operate as ceilings for the remuneration of government deposits and that will be taken into account in monitoring compliance with the Treaty from 1 December 2014,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Definitions
   For the purposes of this Decision:

               (a)

               ‘government’ means all public entities mentioned in Article 123 of the Treaty, as interpreted in the light of Regulation (EC) No 3603/93, except for publicly-owned credit institutions which, in the context of the supply of reserves by NCBs, are given the same treatment by NCBs and the ECB as private credit institutions;

               (b)

               ‘government deposits’ means overnight and fixed-term deposits accepted by NCBs from any government;

               (c)

               ‘unsecured overnight market rate’ means: (i) with regard to overnight deposits in euro, the euro overnight index average rate (EONIA); and (ii) with regard to overnight deposits in a different currency, a comparable rate;

               (d)

               ‘secured market rate’ means: (i) with regard to fixed term deposits in euro, the euro repo market offered rate (EUREPO) with comparable maturity if available; and (ii) with regard to fixed term deposits in a different currency, a comparable rate.

         Article 2
   Remuneration of government deposits and compliance with the prohibition on monetary financing
   1.   For the purposes of monitoring compliance with the prohibition on monetary financing, the following ceilings on the remuneration of government deposits with NCBs shall apply:

               (a)

               for overnight deposits, the unsecured overnight market rate;

               (b)

               for fixed-term deposits, the secured market rate or, if unavailable, the unsecured overnight market rate.

         2.   Compliance with the ceilings referred to in paragraph 1 shall be assessed in the light of all relevant facts specific to each individual case.
   Article 3
   Entry into force
   1.   The provisions of this Decision shall be applied by the ECB from 1 December 2014.
   2.   This Decision shall enter into force on 22 February 2014.

      Done at Frankfurt am Main, 20 February 2014.

            The President of the ECB

         Mario DRAGHI

      (1)  Council Regulation (EC) No 3603/93 of 13 December 1993 specifying definitions for the application of the prohibitions referred to in Articles 104 and 104b (1) of the Treaty (OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 1).


Avis juridique important

|

31982D0505

82/505/EEC: Council Decision of 12 July 1982 concluding the Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services (ASOR)

Official Journal L 230 , 05/08/1982 P. 0038 - 0038 Finnish special edition: Chapter 7 Volume 3 P. 0003  Spanish special edition: Chapter 07 Volume 3 P. 0042  Swedish special edition: Chapter 7 Volume 3 P. 0003  Portuguese special edition Chapter 07 Volume 3 P. 0042

COUNCIL DECISION of 12 July 1982 concluding the Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services (ASOR) (82/505/EEC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 75 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [1], [1] OJ No C 31, 8.2.1982, p. 1. Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament [2], [2] OJ No C 182, 19.7.1982, p. 27. Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee [3], [3] Opinion delivered on 26 May 1982 (not yet)Whereas the Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services (ASOR) was negotiated between the Commission on behalf of the European Economic Community and Austria, Spain, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey in accordance with the negotiating directives adopted by the Council; Whereas the ASOR will help to facilitate the operation of occasional services and will promote tourism in Western Europe, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Article 1The Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services (ASOR) together with the declarations annexed to the Final Act are hereby approved on behalf of the European Economic Community. The texts referred to in the first paragraph are attached to this Decision.Article 2The President of the Council shall deposit the acts provided for in Article 18 of the Agreement [4].[4] The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities by the General Secretariat of the Council. Done at Brussels, 12 July 1982. For the Council The President


Avis juridique important

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32004D0057

Commission Decision of 23 December 2003 on the continuation in the year 2004 of Community comparative trials and tests on seeds and propagating material of gramineae, Triticum aestivum, Brassica napus and Allium ascalonicum under Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 68/193/EEC, 92/33/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC, 2002/56/EC and 2002/57/EC started in 2003

Official Journal L 012 , 17/01/2004 P. 0049 - 0049 Official Journal L 277 , 26/08/2004 P. 0028 - 0028

Commission Decisionof 23 December 2003on the continuation in the year 2004 of Community comparative trials and tests on seeds and propagating material of gramineae, Triticum aestivum, Brassica napus and Allium ascalonicum under Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 68/193/EEC, 92/33/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC, 2002/56/EC and 2002/57/EC started in 2003(2004/57/EC)THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed(1),Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed(2),Having regard to Council Directive 68/193/EEC of 4 April 1968 on the marketing of material for the vegetative propagation of the vine(3),Having regard to Council Directive 92/33/EEC of 28 April 1992 on the marketing of vegetable propagating and planting material, other than seed(4),Having regard to Council Directive 2002/54/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of beet seed(5),Having regard to Council Directive 2002/55/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of vegetable seed(6),Having regard to Council Directive 2002/56/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed potatoes(7),Having regard to Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants(8),Having regard to Commission Decision 2002/756/EC of 16 September 2002 setting out the arrangements for Community comparative trials and tests on seeds and propagating material of certain plants under Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 68/193/EEC, 92/33/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC, 2002/56/EC and 2002/57/EC(9), and in particular Article 4 thereof,Whereas:(1) Decision 2002/756/EC sets out the arrangements for the comparative trials and tests to be carried out under Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 68/193/EEC, 92/33/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC, 2002/56/EC and 2002/57/EC from 2003 to 2004.(2) Tests and trials carried out in 2003 should be continued in 2004,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Sole ArticleCommunity comparative trials and tests which began in 2003 on propagating and planting material of gramineae, Triticum aestivum, Brassica napus and Allium ascalonicum shall be continued in 2004 in accordance with Decision 2002/756/EC.Done at Brussels, 23 December 2003.For the CommissionDavid ByrneMember of the Commission(1) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).(2) OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2309/66. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(3) OJ L 93, 17.4.1968, p. 15. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(4) OJ L 157, 10.6.1992, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(5) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 12. Directive as amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(6) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 33. Directive as amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(7) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 60. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(8) OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 74. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC.(9) OJ L 252, 20.9.2002, p. 33.


title: 2007/518/EC,Euratom: Council Decision of 10 July 2007 appointing a Spanish member of the European Economic and Social Committee

text:
               24.7.2007

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 192/25

      COUNCIL DECISION

   of 10 July 2007
   appointing a Spanish member of the European Economic and Social Committee
   (2007/518/EC, Euratom)
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 259 thereof,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 167 thereof,
   Having regard to Council Decision 2006/524/EC, Euratom of 11 July 2006 appointing Czech, German, Estonian, Spanish, French, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourg, Hungarian, Maltese, Austrian, Slovenian and Slovak members of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
   Having regard to the nomination submitted by the Spanish Government,
   Having regard to the opinion of the Commission,
   Whereas a Spanish member's seat on the European Economic and Social Committee has fallen vacant following the resignation of Mr Pedro BARATO TRIGUERO,
   HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   Mr Pedro Raúl NARRO SÁNCHEZ is hereby appointed a member of the European Economic and Social Committee in place of Mr Pedro BARATO TRIGUERO for the remainder of his term of office, which ends on 20 September 2010.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall take effect on the date of its adoption.

      Done at Brussels, 10 July 2007.

            For the Council

            The President

         F. TEIXEIRA DOS SANTOS

      (1)  OJ L 207, 28.7.2006, p. 30.


title: 86/584/EEC: Council Decision of 3 November 1986 concluding an Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Korea on trade in textile products consequent on the accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the Community

text:
29 . 11 . 86                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No L 338 / 47
                                                     COUNCIL DECISION
                                                      of 3 November 1986
                  concluding an Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic
                  Community and the Republic of Korea on trade in textile products consequent on the accession
                           of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the Community
                                                          ( 86 / 584 / EEC )
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                               on trade in textile products consequent on the accession of
                                                                        the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                   Community is hereby approved on behalf of the
Economic Community , and in particular Article 113                      Community .
thereof,
                                                                        The text of the Protocol is attached to this Decision .
Having     regard   to   the   recommendation      from     the
Commission ,
Whereas it is necessary to approve the Additional Protocol to                                     Article 2
the Agreement between the European Economic Community
and the Republic of Korea on trade in textile products to take          The President of the Council shall give the notification
account of the accession to the Community of the Kingdom                provided for in Article 4 of the Additional Protocol .
of Spain and the Portuguese Republic,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
                                                                        Done at Brussels , 3 November 1986 .
                           Article 1                                                                                For the Council
                                                                                The President
The Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the
European Economic Community and the Republic of Korea                                                                  A. CLARK