CHAPTER VGENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 18Transparency, communication, and public disclosure of information

1.

In accordance with their transparency policies and Union rules on data protection and on access to documents and information, the eligible counterparts shall proactively and systematically make publicly available on their websites information relating to all financing and investment operations covered by the EFSD Guarantee under this Regulation, relating in particular to the manner in which those operations contribute to the achievement of the objectives and requirements of this Regulation. Where possible, such information shall be broken down at project level. Such information shall always take into account the protection of confidential and commercially sensitive information.

2.

The Commission shall publish on its web-portal information on financing and investment operations and the essential elements of all EFSD guarantee agreements, including information on the legal identity of eligible counterparts, expected development benefits and complaints procedures in accordance with point (g) of Article 13(3), taking into account the protection of confidential and commercially sensitive information.

3.

Eligible counterparts shall publicise Union support in all information which they publish on financing and investment operations covered by the EFSD Guarantee in accordance with this Regulation.

4.

European Union delegations shall include information about funding opportunities provided by the EFSD in their communication targeted at civil society and the general public.

Article 19Grievance and redress mechanism

In view of possible grievances of third parties in partner countries, including communities and individuals affected by projects supported by the EFSD Guarantee, the Commission and European Union delegations shall publish on their websites direct references to the complaints mechanisms of the relevant counterparts that have concluded agreements with the Commission. The Commission shall also provide the possibility of directly receiving complaints related to the treatment of grievances by eligible counterparts. The Commission shall take that information into account in view of future cooperation with those counterparts.

Article 20Auditing by the Court of Auditors

1.

The external audit of the activities undertaken in accordance with this Regulation shall be carried out by the Court of Auditors in accordance with Article 287 TFEU and those activities are thus subject to the discharge procedure in accordance with Article 319 TFEU.

2.

For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Court of Auditors shall, at its request and in accordance with Article 287(3) TFEU, be granted access to any document or information necessary to carry out its auditing tasks.

Article 21Anti-fraud measures

1.

The Commission or the eligible counterparts shall immediately notify OLAF when, at any stage of the preparation, implementation or closure of financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation, it has or they have grounds for suspecting fraud, corruption, money laundering or any other illegal activity that may affect the financial interests of the Union. The Commission or the eligible counterparts shall provide OLAF with all necessary information to enable it to carry out a full and thorough investigation.

2.

OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulations (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 in order to protect the financial interests of the Union, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption, money laundering or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with any financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation. OLAF may transmit any information obtained in the course of its investigations to the competent authorities of the Member States concerned.

Where such illegal activities are proven, the eligible counterparts shall undertake recovery efforts with respect to their financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation that are concerned by such activities, and shall also provide the relevant authorities with all information needed for investigation and possible prosecution.

Article 22Excluded activities and non-cooperative jurisdictions

1.

In their financing and investment operations, the eligible counterparts shall comply with applicable Union law and agreed international and Union standards and, therefore, shall not support projects under this Regulation that contribute to money laundering, terrorism financing, tax avoidance, tax fraud and tax evasion.

In addition, the eligible counterparts shall not enter into new or renewed operations with entities incorporated or established in jurisdictions listed under the relevant Union policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions, or that are identified as high risk third countries pursuant to Article 9(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council13, or that do not effectively comply with Union or internationally agreed tax standards on transparency and exchange of information. The eligible counterparts may derogate from this principle only if the project is physically implemented in one of those jurisdictions, and does not present any indication that the relevant operation falls under any of the categories listed in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.

When concluding agreements with financial intermediaries, the eligible counterparts shall transpose the requirements referred to in this Article into the relevant agreements and shall request the financial intermediaries to report on their observance.

2.

In its financing and investment operations, the eligible counterpart shall apply the principles and standards set out in Union law on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing and in particular Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council14 and Directive (EU) 2015/849. The eligible counterparts shall make both direct funding and funding via intermediaries under this Regulation contingent upon the disclosure of beneficial ownership information in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 and publish country-by-country reporting data in accordance with Article 89(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council15.