Council Decision of 13 June 2002 adopting an action programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO programme) (2002/463/EC)

CHAPTER III U.K. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS, MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING

Article 10 U.K. Eligibility

1. To be eligible for co-financing under the ARGO programme, actions referred to in Article 8 and proposed by a national agency of one Member State must:

(a) involve:

• (a) at least two other Member States, or

• another Member State and a candidate country, where the aim is to prepare for its accession, or

• another Member State and a third country, where this would be beneficial for the purpose of the action proposed;

(b) pursue one of the general objectives referred to in Article 3;

(c) implement one of the activities in the respective policy area referred to in Articles 4, 5, 6 or 7.

[F1 1a. Actions referred to in Article 8 and proposed by a national agency of one Member State which implement one of the activities in the policy area referred to in Article 4, shall be eligible for co-financing under the ARGO programme, provided they:

(a) pursue one of the general objectives referred to in Article 3; and

(b) contribute to integrated border management by addressing specific structural weaknesses at strategic border points, identified on the basis of objective criteria.]

2. Actions referred to in Article 8 may associate participants of the national agencies of any Member State not bound by this decision.

3. Actions proposed by the Commission will promote and facilitate administrative cooperation pursuing the general objectives referred to in Article 3 and support activities in the respective policy areas referred to in Articles 4, 5, 6 or 7.

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Council Decision of 13 December 2004 amending Decision 2002/463/EC adopting an action programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO programme) (2004/867/EC).

Article 11 U.K. Financing

1. The financial reference amount for implementing the ARGO programme shall be EUR 25 million.

2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

3. Actions referred to in [F2 Article 10(1) and (1a)] on the one hand and actions referred to in Article 10(3) on the other shall receive an equitable share of the annual amount.

4. The co-financing of an action referred to in [F2 Article 10(1) and (1a)] by the ARGO programme shall be exclusive of any other financing by another programme financed by the budget of the European Communities.

[F2 5. The decisions to award community grants to the actions referred to in Article 10(1) and (1a) shall be subject to grant agreements between the Commission and the national agencies proposing the actions. The implementation of these award decisions and agreements shall be subject to financial control of the Commission and to audits by the Court of Auditors.]

6. The proportion of financial support from the budget of the European Communities for actions referred to in [F2 Article 10(1) and (1a)] shall generally not exceed 60 % of the cost of the action. However, in exceptional circumstances this proportion may be raised up to 80 %.

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Council Decision of 13 December 2004 amending Decision 2002/463/EC adopting an action programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO programme) (2004/867/EC).

Article 12 U.K. Implementation

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the management and implementation of the ARGO programme, in partnership with the Member States.

2. The Commission shall manage the ARGO programme in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

3. To implement the ARGO programme, the Commission shall, within the scope of the general objectives set out in Article 3:

[F2 (a) prepare an annual work programme comprising specific objectives, thematic priorities, the objective criteria referred to in Article 10(1a)(b), definition of the indicative maximum share of the annual budget available for the actions referred to in Article 10(1a), a description of the actions referred to in Article 10(3) which the Commission intends to undertake and, if necessary, a list of other actions;]

(b) evaluate and select the actions proposed by national agencies.

[F2 4. The annual work programme including the actions proposed by the Commission and the specific actions provided for in Article 9 shall be adopted according to the procedure referred to in Article 13(2).

As regards the actions referred to in Article 10(1) and (1a), the list of selected actions shall be adopted according to the procedure referred to in Article 13(3).]

5. The Commission shall evaluate and select actions proposed by the national agencies on the basis of the following criteria:

(a) conformity with the annual work programme, the general objectives set out in Article 3 and the activities in the respective policy area set out in Articles 4, 5, 6 or 7;

(b) the European dimension of the proposed action and/or scope for participation by the candidate countries;

(c) compatibility with the work undertaken or planned within the framework of the Community's political priorities in the areas covered by Articles 62 and 63;

(d) complementarity to other past, present or future administrative cooperation actions;

(e) the ability of national agencies to implement the proposed action;

(f) the inherent quality of the proposed action in terms of its conception, organisation, presentation and expected results;

(g) amount of the support requested under the ARGO programme and proportionality with the expected results;

(h) impact of the expected results on the general objectives set out in Article 3 and on the activities in the respective policy area set out in Articles 4, 5, 6 or 7.

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Council Decision of 13 December 2004 amending Decision 2002/463/EC adopting an action programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO programme) (2004/867/EC).