The body recognised under Article 14 shall be considered a body pursuing an aim of general European interest within the meaning of Article 162 of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002(1).
1.The Community may finance the following activities in connection with the application of this Regulation:
(a)the production and revision of sectoral accreditation schemes referred to in Article 13(3);
(b)the activities of the secretariat of the body recognised under Article 14, such as the coordination of accreditation activities, the processing of technical work linked to the operation of the peer evaluation system, the provision of interested parties with information and the participation of the body in the activities of international organisations in the field of accreditation;
(c)the drawing up and updating of contributions to guidelines in the fields of accreditation, notification to the Commission of conformity assessment bodies, conformity assessment and market surveillance;
(d)inter-comparison activities linked to the operation of safeguard clauses;
(e)the making available to the Commission of technical expertise for the purpose of assisting the Commission in its implementation of market surveillance administrative cooperation, including the financing of administrative cooperation groups, market surveillance decisions and safeguard clause cases;
(f)the performance of preliminary or ancillary work in connection with the implementation of the conformity assessment, metrology, accreditation and market surveillance activities linked to the implementation of Community legislation, such as studies, programmes, evaluations, guidelines, comparative analyses, mutual joint visits, research work, the development and maintenance of databases, training activities, laboratory work, proficiency testing, inter-laboratory tests and conformity assessment work, as well as European market surveillance campaigns and similar activities;
(g)activities carried out under programmes of technical assistance, cooperation with third countries and the promotion and enhancement of European conformity assessment, market surveillance and accreditation policies and systems among interested parties in the Community and at international level.
2.The activities referred to in paragraph 1(a) shall be eligible for Community financing only if the Committee set up by Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC has been consulted on the requests to be submitted to the body recognised under Article 14 of this Regulation.
Community financing may be granted to the body recognised under Article 14 for the implementation of the activities set out in Article 32.
However, Community financing may also be granted to other bodies for the carrying out of the activities set out in Article 32, except those set out in paragraph 1(a) and (b) of that Article.
The appropriations allocated to the activities referred to in this Regulation shall be determined each year by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial framework in force.
1.Community financing shall be provided:
(a)without a call for proposals, to the body recognised under Article 14 to carry out those activities referred to in Article 32(1)(a) to (g) for which grants can be awarded in accordance with the Financial Regulation;
(b)in the form of grants after a call for proposals, or by public procurement procedures, to other bodies to carry out the activities referred to in Article 32(1)(c) to (g).
2.The activities of the secretariat of the body recognised under Article 14 referred to in Article 32(1)(b) may be financed on the basis of operating grants. In the event of renewal, the operating grants shall not be decreased automatically.
3.Grant agreements may authorise flat-rate cover of the beneficiary's overheads up to a maximum of 10 % of total eligible direct costs for actions, except where the beneficiary's indirect costs are covered through an operating grant financed from the Community budget.
4.The common cooperation objectives and the administrative and financial conditions relating to the grants awarded to the body recognised under Article 14 may be defined in a framework partnership agreement signed by the Commission and that body, in accordance with the Financial Regulation and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002. The European Parliament and the Council shall be informed of the conclusion of any such agreement.
1.The appropriations determined by the budgetary authority for the financing of conformity assessment, accreditation and market surveillance activities may also cover administrative expenses relating to preparation, monitoring, inspection, auditing and evaluation which are directly necessary for the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation, and in particular studies, meetings, information and publication activities, expenses relating to informatics networks for the exchange of information and any other expenditure on administrative and technical assistance which the Commission may use for conformity assessment and accreditation activities.
2.The Commission shall evaluate the relevance of the conformity assessment, accreditation and market surveillance activities that receive Community financing in the light of the requirements of Community policies and legislation, and inform the European Parliament and the Council of the outcome of that evaluation by 1 January 2013 and every five years thereafter.
1.The Commission shall ensure that, when the activities financed under this Regulation are implemented, the Community's financial interests are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and other illegal activities, by effective checks and by the recovery of amounts unduly paid and, if irregularities are detected, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests(2), Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities(3) and Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)(4).
2.For the purposes of the Community activities financed under this Regulation, the notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 shall mean any infringement of a provision of Community law or any breach of a contractual obligation resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing the general budget of the European Union or budgets managed by it by an unjustified item of expenditure.
3.Any agreements and contracts resulting from this Regulation shall provide for monitoring and financial control by the Commission or any representative which it authorises and for audits by the Court of Auditors, which may be conducted on the spot if necessary.
OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 478/2007 (OJ L 111, 28.4.2007, p. 13).