Article 13Conduct of on-site visits
1.
The on-site teams shall undertake all necessary preparatory activities in order to ensure the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of on-site visits.
2.
The detailed programme for announced on-site visits shall be established by the Commission in close cooperation with the leading experts and the Member State concerned. The Member States shall be informed about that programme. The detailed programme for unannounced on-site visits shall be established by the Commission.
The Member State concerned shall be consulted and notified of the timetable and detailed programme:
(a)
at least six weeks before an announced on-site visit is due to take place;
(b)
at least 24 hours before an unannounced on-site visit takes place.
Unannounced on-site visits to the internal borders shall take place without prior notification to the Member State(s) concerned. General guidelines on practical arrangements for such visits shall be established by the Commission in close cooperation with the Member States.
3.
The members of the on-site team shall each carry identification authorising them to conduct on-site visits in accordance with this Regulation.
4.
The Member State to be evaluated shall ensure that the on-site team is able to exercise its mandate to verify the activities in the areas to be evaluated. It shall, in particular, ensure that the on-site team can directly address relevant persons and has access to all areas, premises and documents required for the evaluation.
5.
The Member State to be evaluated shall, by any means within its legal powers, assist the on-site team in performing its task.
6.
In the case of announced on-site visits, the Commission shall provide in advance the names of the experts in the on-site team to the Member State to be evaluated. That Member State shall designate a contact point for making the practical arrangements for the on-site visit.
7.
The Commission and the Member States shall be responsible for making the necessary travel arrangements to and from the Member State(s) to be evaluated for their respective experts participating in the on-site team. The travel and accommodation costs for experts participating in the on-site visits shall be reimbursed by the Commission.
The Member State(s) to be evaluated shall be responsible for making the necessary accommodation arrangements and for providing the necessary transport on location. For unannounced on-site visits, the Commission shall facilitate the accommodation arrangements for experts.