Commission Delegated Decision of 29 June 2012 on investigations and fines related to the manipulation of statistics as referred to in Regulation (EU) No 1173/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the effective enforcement of budgetary surveillance in the euro area (2012/678/EU)

CHAPTER IV CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING THE AMOUNT OF THE FINE

Article 13 Maximum amount

The total amount of the fine shall not exceed 0,2 % of the latest official gross domestic product at current market prices of the Member State concerned, as defined in ESA 95, in the preceding year.

Article 14 Criteria with regard to the amount of the fine

1. The Commission shall ensure that the fine to be recommended is effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The fine shall be established on the basis of a reference amount that may be modulated upwards or downwards when taking into account the specific circumstances referred to in paragraph 3.

2. The reference amount shall be equal to 5 % of the larger impact of the misrepresentation on the level of either the general government deficit or debt of the Member State for the relevant years covered by the notification in the context of the excessive deficit procedure.

3. Taking into account the maximum amount established in Article 13, the Commission shall in each case take into consideration, where relevant, the following circumstances:

(a) the seriousness and the wider effects of the misrepresentation; in particular, the impact of the misrepresentation on the functioning of the strengthened economic governance of the Union;

(b) the fact that the misrepresentation has been shown to be the result of serious negligence or, alternatively, the misrepresentation has been shown to be intentional;

(c) the fact that the misrepresentation was the work of one entity acting alone or, alternatively, the misrepresentation was the result of a concerted action by two or more entities;

(d) the repetition, frequency or duration of the misrepresentation by the Member State concerned; in such cases, the reference amount shall be the highest magnitude detected and shall be multiplied by the number of years, across the four years of the last notification, in which the relevant misrepresentation occurred;

(e) the degree of diligence and cooperation, alternatively the degree of obstruction, shown by the Member State concerned in the detection of the misrepresentation and in the course of the investigations.

Article 15 Limitation period for the collection of fines

1. The right of the Commission to enforce decisions taken by the Council pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1173/2011 shall be exercised within a period of five years.

2. The period shall begin to run on the day on which the Member State concerned is notified of the decision of the Council.

3. The limitation period for the recovery of fines shall be interrupted by any action of the Commission designed to enforce payment of the fine or shall be suspended for so long as enforcement of payment is suspended pursuant to a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union.