F1Article 5

1.

An implementing act adopted pursuant to Article 4(4) shall contain in its Annex detailed provisions for the implementation of the financial contribution from the Fund.

Those provisions shall describe, in particular, the type and location of operations to be financed by the Fund following a proposal by the eligible State.

2.

Before paying out a financial contribution from the Fund to an eligible State that is not a Member State, the Commission shall conclude a delegation agreement with that State laying down detailed provisions for the implementation of the financial contribution from the Fund referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 17 , as well as the obligations relating to natural disaster risk prevention and management.

3.

Responsibility for selecting individual operations and implementing the financial contribution from the Fund shall lie with the beneficiary State, in accordance with this Regulation, in particular Article 3(2) and (3), the implementing act referred to in Article 4(4) and, where applicable, the delegation agreement referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.

4.

The financial contribution from the Fund to a Member State shall be implemented within the framework of shared management in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. The financial contribution from the Fund to an eligible State that is not a Member State shall be implemented within the framework of indirect management in accordance with that Regulation.

5.

Without prejudice to the Commission’s responsibility for implementing the general budget of the Union, beneficiary States shall take responsibility for the management of operations supported by the Fund and the financial control of the operations. The measures they take shall include:

(a)

verifying that management and control arrangements have been set up and are being implemented in such a way as to ensure that Union funds are being used efficiently and correctly, in accordance with the principles of sound financial management;

(b)

verifying that the financed actions have been properly carried out;

(c)

ensuring that expenditure funded is based on verifiable supporting documents, and is correct and regular;

(d)

preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities and recovering amounts unduly paid together with interest on late payments where appropriate. They shall notify any such irregularities to the Commission, and keep the Commission informed of the progress of administrative and legal proceedings.

6.

Beneficiary States shall designate bodies responsible for the management and control of the operations supported by the Fund in accordance with Articles 59 and 60 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. In doing so they shall take into account criteria on internal environment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring. Member States may designate the bodies already designated under Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 18 .

Those designated bodies shall provide the Commission with the information set out in Article 59(5) or Article 60(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 covering the whole of the implementation period when submitting the report and the statement referred to in Article 8(3) of this Regulation.

7.

The beneficiary State shall make the financial corrections required where an irregularity is ascertained. The corrections made by the beneficiary State shall consist of cancelling all or part of the financial contribution from the Fund. The beneficiary State shall recover any amount lost as a result of an irregularity detected.

8.

Without prejudice to the powers of the Court of Auditors or the checks carried out by the beneficiary State in accordance with national laws, regulations and administrative provisions, the Commission may carry out on-the-spot checks on the operations financed by the Fund. The Commission shall give notice to the beneficiary State with a view to obtaining all the assistance necessary. Officials or other servants of the Member State concerned may take part in such checks.

9.

The beneficiary State shall ensure that all supporting documents regarding expenditure incurred are kept available for the Commission and the Court of Auditors for a period of three years following the closure of the assistance from the Fund.