Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. PRINCIPLES OF ASSISTANCE

Article 3 U.K. General principles

1. The Specific Regulations shall provide support, through national programmes, Union actions and emergency assistance, which complements national, regional and local intervention, pursuing the objectives of the Union and resulting in added value for the Union.

2. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that the support provided under the Specific Regulations and by the Member States is consistent with the relevant activities, policies and priorities of the Union and is complementary to other Union instruments, while taking into account the specific context of each Member State.

3. The support provided under the Specific Regulations shall be implemented in close cooperation between the Commission and the Member States.

4. In accordance with their respective responsibilities, the Commission and the Member States, together with the European External Action Service (‘EEAS’) as regards actions in and in relation to third countries, shall ensure coordination between this Regulation and the Specific Regulations, and with other relevant Union policies, strategies and instruments, including those in the framework of the Union’s external action.

5. The Commission and the Member States, together with the EEAS where appropriate, shall ensure that actions in and in relation to third countries are carried out in synergy and in coherence with other actions outside the Union supported through Union instruments. They shall, in particular, ensure that those actions:

(a) are coherent with the Union’s external policy, respect the principle of policy coherence for development and are consistent with the strategic programming documents for the region or country in question;

(b) focus on non-development-oriented measures;

(c) serve the interests of the Union’s internal policies and are consistent with activities undertaken inside the Union.

6. The Commission and the Member States shall apply the principle of sound financial management in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, in particular in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness as provided for in Article 30 of that Regulation.

7. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure the effectiveness of the support provided under the Specific Regulations, including through monitoring, reporting and evaluation.

8. The Commission and the Member States shall carry out their respective roles in relation to this Regulation and the Specific Regulations with the aim of reducing the administrative burden for beneficiaries, the Member States and the Commission, taking into account the principle of proportionality.

Article 4 U.K. Compliance with Union and national law

Actions financed by the Specific Regulations shall comply with applicable Union and national law.

Article 5 U.K. Protection of the financial interests of the Union

1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Regulation and the Specific Regulations are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid if irregularities are detected, and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties.

2. Member States shall prevent, detect and correct irregularities and shall recover amounts unduly paid together with any interest on late payments. They shall notify those to the Commission and shall keep it informed of any significant progress in the related administrative and legal proceedings.

3. When amounts unduly paid to a beneficiary, as a result of fault or negligence on the part of a Member State cannot be recovered, that Member State shall be responsible for reimbursing the relevant amounts to the Union budget.

4. Member States shall offer effective prevention against fraud, especially as regards areas with a higher level of risk. Such prevention shall act as a deterrent, having regard to the benefits as well as the proportionality of the measures.

5. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 58 concerning the obligations of Member States specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.

6. The Commission shall set out, by way of implementing acts, the frequency of the reporting of irregularities and the reporting format to be used. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 59(2).

7. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on the spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds in accordance with this Regulation and the Specific Regulations.

8. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96(2), with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement, grant decision or a contract funded in accordance with this Regulation and the Specific Regulations.

9. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 7 and 8, cooperation agreements with third countries and international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions resulting from the implementation of this Regulation and the Specific Regulations shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, in accordance with their respective competences.

(1)

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).

(2)

Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2).