Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 447/2014Show full title

CHAPTER II U.K. Cross-border cooperation between Member States and IPA II beneficiaries

Article 33 U.K. Applicable provisions

1. As far as the Member State(s) participating in a cross-border cooperation programme under this Chapter are concerned, in particular the Member State where the managing authority shall be located, the rules applicable to the European territorial cooperation goal provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) shall apply, as provided for in this Chapter. Where such rules refer to the European Structural and Investment Funds as defined in Article 1 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, for the purposes of this Chapter, IPA II assistance is also considered to be covered.

2. As far as the IPA II beneficiaries participating in a cross-border cooperation programme under this Chapter are concerned, the rules applicable to the European territorial cooperation apply, as provided for in this Chapter, without prejudice to reasoned derogations set out in the relevant financing agreement.

Article 34 U.K. Programming

1. Cross-border cooperation programmes shall be drawn up in accordance with the partnership principle as set out in Article 5(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and in accordance with Article 8(2) to (4), (7), (9) and (10) of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013.

2. Cross-border cooperation programmes shall consist of priority axes. Without prejudice to Article 32, a priority axis shall correspond to a thematic priority referred to in Article 29. Within a priority axis, where appropriate and in order to increase its impact and effectiveness through a coherent integrated approach, elements of other thematic priorities may be added.

3. Cross-border cooperation programmes may carry out actions of community-led local development in the meaning of Articles 32 to 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, of joint action plans in the meaning of Articles 104 to 109 of that Regulation and of integrated territorial investments in the meaning of Article 36 of that Regulation, taking into account the underlying principles of these instruments and Articles 9 to 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013. The specific rules and conditions shall be agreed between the Commission and the participating countries for each cross-border cooperation programme.

4. Cross-border cooperation programmes shall be submitted electronically to the Commission by the Member State where the programme's managing authority shall be located.

5. The European Investment Bank (EIB) may, at the request of participating countries, participate in the preparation of, as well as in activities relating to the preparation of operations, in particular major projects.

The Commission may consult the EIB before the adoption of cross-border cooperation programmes.

Article 35 U.K. Technical assistance

The amount of IPA II assistance to be allocated to technical assistance shall be limited to 10 % of the total amount allocated to the cross-border cooperation programme, but shall not be less than EUR 1 500 000.

Article 36 U.K. Implementation mode and designation of programme authorities

1. Cross-border cooperation programmes under this Chapter shall be implemented under shared management. Consequently, Member States and the Commission shall be responsible for the management and control of programmes in accordance with their respective responsibilities as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 and in this Regulation.

Articles 73 and 74 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning the responsibilities of the Member States under shared management shall apply to the Member State where the managing authority is located.

Article 75 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning the powers and responsibilities of the Commission under shared management shall apply.

2. The participating countries in a cross-border cooperation programme shall designate, for the purposes of Article 123(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, a single managing authority; for the purpose of Article 123(2) of that Regulation, a single certifying authority; and for the purpose of Article 123(4) of that Regulation, a single audit authority.

3. The managing authority and the audit authority shall be situated in the same Member State. The participating countries in a cross-border cooperation programme may designate the single managing authority to carry out the functions of the certifying authority.

The procedure for the designation of the managing authority and, where appropriate, of the certifying authority, set out in Article 124 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, shall be carried out by the Member State in which the authority is located.

Designations provided for in this Article shall be without prejudice to the apportionment of liabilities in relation to the application of financial corrections among the participating countries as provided for in the cross-border cooperation programme.

Article 37 U.K. Functions of the programme authorities

1. Article 125 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 23(1), (2), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning the functions of the managing authority shall apply.

2. Article 126 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 24 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning the functions of the certifying authority shall apply.

The certifying authority shall receive the payments made by the Commission and shall, as a general rule, make payments to the lead beneficiary in accordance with Article 132 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.

3. Article 127 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 25 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning the functions of the audit authority shall apply.

Article 38 U.K. Joint monitoring committee

1. Within three months of the date of notification to the Member State of the decision approving cross-border cooperation programme, the participating countries shall set up a Joint monitoring committee (hereinafter referred to as ‘JMC’).

2. The JMC shall be composed of representatives of the Commission, the NIPAC and other relevant national authorities and bodies of the IPA II beneficiary], the participating Member State(s) and, where relevant, international financial institutions and other stakeholders, including civil society and private sector organisations.

3. The JMC shall be chaired by a representative of one of the participating countries or of the managing authority.

4. The Commission shall participate in the work of the JMC in an advisory capacity.

5. If the EIB contributes to a programme, it may participate in the work of the JMC in an advisory capacity.

6. The JMC shall review the overall effectiveness, quality and coherence of the implementation of all actions towards meeting the objectives set out in the cross-border programme, the financing agreements and the relevant strategy paper(s). It may make recommendations for corrective actions whenever needed.

Articles 49 and 110 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning its functions shall also apply.

The JMC and the managing authority shall carry out monitoring by reference to indicators laid down in the relevant cross-border cooperation programme, in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013.

7. The JMC shall adopt its rules of procedure.

8. The JMC shall meet at least once a year. Additional meetings may also be convened at the initiative of one of the participating countries or of the Commission, in particular on a thematic basis.

Article 39 U.K. Selection of operations

1. Operations under cross-border cooperation programmes shall be selected by the JMC.

The JMC may set up a steering committee acting under its responsibility for the selection of operations.

2. Selected operations shall involve beneficiaries from at least two participating countries, at least one of which shall be from a Member State. An operation may be implemented in a single participating country, provided that cross-border impacts and benefits are identified.

3. Beneficiaries shall cooperate in the development and implementation of operations. In addition, they shall cooperate in either the staffing or the financing of operations.

Article 40 U.K. Beneficiaries

1. Where there are two or more beneficiaries for an operation in a cross-border cooperation programme, one of them shall be designated by all the beneficiaries as the lead beneficiary.

2. The lead beneficiary shall carry out the following tasks:

(a) lay down the arrangements with other beneficiaries in an agreement comprising provisions that, inter alia, guarantee the sound financial management of the funds allocated to the operation, including the arrangements for recovering amounts unduly paid;

(b) assume responsibility for ensuring implementation of the entire operation;

(c) ensure that expenditure presented by all beneficiaries has been incurred in implementing the operation and corresponds to the activities agreed between all the beneficiaries, and in accordance with the document provided by the managing authority as provided for in paragraph 6;

(d) ensure that the expenditure presented by other beneficiaries has been verified by a controller(s) where this verification is not carried out by the managing authority in accordance with Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013.

3. If not otherwise specified in the arrangements referred to in point (a) of paragraph (2), the lead beneficiary shall ensure that the other beneficiaries receive the total amount of the public support as quickly as possible and in full. No amount shall be deducted or withheld and no specific charge or other charge with equivalent effect shall be levied that would reduce those amounts for the other beneficiaries.

4. Lead or sole beneficiaries shall be located in a participating country.

5. Notwithstanding Article 39(2) of this Regulation, an European grouping of territorial cooperation set up in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2) or another legal body established under the laws of one of the participating countries may apply as sole beneficiary for an operation provided that it is set up by public authorities and bodies from at least two participating countries.

6. The managing authority shall provide to the lead or sole beneficiary for each operation a document setting out the conditions for support of the operation, including the specific requirements concerning the products or services to be delivered under the operation, the financing plan and the time-limit for execution.

Article 41 U.K. Evaluation

1. Evaluations shall be carried out by internal or external experts that are functionally independent of the authorities responsible for programme implementation. All evaluations shall be made public.

2. The participating countries shall jointly carry out an ex ante evaluation in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.

3. Article 56 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning evaluation during the programming period shall apply.

4. Article 57 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning evaluation ex post shall apply.

Article 42 U.K. Reporting, information and communication

1. Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning implementation reports shall apply.

2. The annual review meeting shall be organised in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013.

3. By 31 January, 31 July and 31 October of each year, the managing authority shall transmit electronically to the Commission for monitoring purposes, for each cross-border programme and by priority axis:

(a) the total and public eligible cost of the operations and the number of operations selected for support;

(b) the total eligible expenditure declared by beneficiaries to the managing authority.

In addition, the transmission made by 31 January shall contain the data referred to in points (a) and (b) broken down by category of intervention. This transmission shall be considered to fulfil the requirement for the submission of financial data referred to in Article 50(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.

A forecast of the amount for which the managing authority expects to submit payment applications for the current financial year and the subsequent financial year shall accompany the transmissions to be made by 31 January and 31 July.

The cut-off date for the data submitted under this paragraph shall be the end of the month preceding the month of submission.

4. The managing authority shall coordinate the tasks linked to the requirements on information, publicity and transparency under Article 24(1) and (3) of this Regulation.

By way of derogation from Article 25 of this Regulation, the managing authority shall be responsible for the information and communication activities as set out in Articles 115 and 116 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.

Article 43 U.K. Eligibility and durability

1. By way of derogation from Article 15(1) of this Regulation, expenditure shall be eligible for funding under IPA II cross-border cooperation assistance:

(a) [X1 if it has been incurred by a beneficiary from a Member State and paid between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023 ; or]

(b) if it has been incurred by a beneficiary from an IPA II beneficiary and paid after the submission of the cross-border cooperation programme.

2. In addition to the rules set out in Article 15(2) of this Regulation, IPA II cross-border cooperation assistance shall not support:

(a) interest on debt;

(b) value added tax (VAT) except where it is non-recoverable under national VAT legislation;

(c) the decommissioning and the construction of nuclear power stations;

(d) investment to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from activities falling under Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(3);

(e) the manufacturing, processing and marketing of tobacco and tobacco products;

(f) undertakings in difficulties as defined under Union State aid rules;

(g) investment in airport infrastructure unless related to environmental protection or accompanied by investment necessary to mitigate or reduce its negative environmental impact.

By way of derogation from Article 15(2) of this Regulation, the purchase of land not built on and land built on in the amount up to 10 % of the total eligible expenditure for the operation concerned shall be eligible for funding under IPA II cross-border cooperation assistance. For derelict sites and for those formerly in industrial use which comprise buildings, this limit shall be increased to 15 %. In exceptional and duly justified cases, this limit may be raised above the respective preceding percentages for operations concerning environmental conservation.

3. Operations shall not be selected for IPA II assistance where they have been physically completed or fully implemented before the application for funding under the cross-border cooperation programme is submitted by the beneficiary to the managing authority, irrespective of whether all related payments have been made by the beneficiary.

4. Articles 61, 65(4) and (6) to (9) and (11), 66to 68, 69(1) and (2) and 71 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning grants shall apply.

5. In addition to Article 6(2) of this Regulation, the financing agreements for cross-border cooperation programmes under this Chapter shall establish the hierarchy of eligibility rules applicable to the cross-border cooperation programme concerned in accordance with the principles set out in Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013.

6. Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning staff costs shall also apply.

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 447/2014 of 2 May 2014 on the specific rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an Instrument for Pre-accession assistance (IPA II) (Official Journal of the European Union L 132 of 3 May 2014).

Article 44 U.K. Eligibility depending on location

1. Operations, subject to the derogations referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3, shall be located in the programme area comprising the part of the territory of the participating countries as defined in the relevant cross-border cooperation programme (the ‘programme area’).

2. The managing authority may accept that all or part of an operation is implemented outside the programme area, provided that all the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) the operation is for the benefit of the programme area;

(b) the total amount allocated under the cross-border cooperation programme to operations located outside the programme area does not exceed 20 % of the support from the Union at programme level;

(c) the obligations of the managing and audit authorities in relation to management, control and audit concerning the operation are fulfilled by the cross-border cooperation programme authorities or they enter into agreements with authorities in the Member State or third country in which the operation is implemented.

3. For operations concerning technical assistance, promotional activities and capacity-building, expenditure may be incurred outside the programme area provided that the conditions in points (a) and (c) of paragraph 2 are fulfilled.

Article 45 U.K. Procurement

1. For the award of service, supply and work contracts, by beneficiaries the procurement procedures shall follow the provisions of Chapter 3 of Title IV of Part Two of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and of Chapter 3 of Title II of Part Two of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 which apply in the whole programme area, both on the Member State and on the IPA II beneficiary/ies' territory.

2. For the award of service, supply and work contracts by the managing authority under the specific budget allocation for technical assistance operations, the procurement procedures applied by the managing authority may either be those referred to in paragraph 1 or those of its national law.

Article 46 U.K. Financial management, decommitment, examination and acceptance of accounts, closure and financial corrections

1. Article 76 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning budget commitments shall apply.

2. Articles 77 to 80, 82 to 83, 129 to 132, 134 to 135 and 142 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning payments shall apply. In addition, Article 27(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning payments into a single account shall apply. Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 concerning the use of the euro shall apply.

3. Concerning pre-financing, following the Commission decision adopting the cross-border cooperation programme, a single pre-financing amount shall be paid by the Commission.

The pre-financing shall amount to 50 % of the first three budgetary commitments to the programme.

The pre-financing amount may be paid in two instalments, where necessary, according to budgetary needs.

The total amount paid as pre-financing shall be reimbursed to the Commission if no payments application under the cross-border cooperation programme is sent within 24 months of the date on which the Commission pays the first instalment of the pre-financing amount.

4. Articles 86 to 88 and 136 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning decommitment shall apply.

5. Articles 84 and 137 to 141 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning the examination and acceptance of accounts as well as closure shall apply.

6. Articles 85, 122(2) and 143 to 147 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning financial corrections and recoveries shall apply. Article 27(2) and (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 shall also apply.

Article 47 U.K. Management and control systems and audit

1. Articles 72 and 122(1) and (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning the general principles of management and control systems shall apply.

2. Article 128 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning the cooperation between the Commission and the audit authorities shall apply.

3. Article 148 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 concerning the proportional control of cross-border cooperation programmes shall apply.

Article 48 U.K. Discontinuation of cross-border cooperation programmes

1. Where none of the participating IPA II beneficiaries has concluded the financing agreement by the end of the year following the year of the adoption of the programme, the Commission shall discontinue the cross-border cooperation programme.

European Regional Development Fund annual instalments already committed shall remain available for their normal lifetime but may be used only for activities which take place exclusively in the Member States concerned and contracted before the Commission discontinuation decision. The managing authority shall transmit the final report within three months of the closure of the contracts to the Commission which shall proceed in conformity with paragraphs 2 and 3.

2. Where the cross-border cooperation programme cannot be implemented owing to problems arising in relations between participating countries and in other duly justified cases, the Commission may decide to discontinue the programme before the expiry date of the period of execution, at the request of the JMC or on its own initiative after having consulted the JMC.

Where the programme is discontinued, the managing authority shall transmit the final report within six months following the Commission's decision. After clearing the previous pre-financing payments, the Commission shall pay the final balance or, where appropriate, issue the recovery order. The Commission shall also decommit the balance of commitments.

As an alternative, it may be decided to reduce the programme's allocation to the programme scope in accordance with Article 31(5).

3. In the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, non-committed support from European Regional Development Fund corresponding to annual instalments not yet committed or annual instalments committed and decommitted totally or partially during the same budgetary year, which have not been re-allocated to another programme of the same category of external cooperation programmes shall be allocated to the internal cross-border cooperation programmes in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013.

IPA II assistance corresponding to annual instalments not yet committed or annual instalments committed and decommitted totally or partially during the same budgetary year shall be used to finance other programmes or projects eligible for IPA II assistance.

(1)

Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on specific provisions for the support from the European Regional Development Fund to the European territorial cooperation goal (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 259).

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC) (OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 19).

(3)

Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).