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Technical assistance financed by the Community contribution
No more than 10 % of the Community's total contribution to a joint operational programme may be allocated to technical assistance. However, on a case-by-case basis and if warranted by the level of expenditure incurred during previous years of implementation and forecast legitimate programme requirements, an increase in the amount of the technical assistance initially allocated to the programme may be considered.
Co-financing sources
1. Co-financing shall come from the own resources of the countries or bodies participating in each joint operational programme. 2. Within each joint operational programme the participating countries shall be free to determine the source, amount and distribution of co-financing between objectives and priorities. 3. Contributions in kind from the Joint Managing Authority may be considered as co-financing, subject to the prior approval of the Commission. In this case they shall be explicitly mentioned in the programme document.
Co-financing rate
1. Co-financing shall amount to at least 10 % of the Community contribution to the joint operational programme, minus the amount of technical assistance financed from the Community contribution. 2. Where possible, co-financing shall be distributed in a balanced way throughout the duration of the programme in such a way that the minimum objective of 10 % is achieved by the end of the programme.
Bank account of the joint operational programme and interest on pre-financing
1. A single bank account in euro, specifically dedicated to the programme, shall be opened and managed by the service acting as accounting officer within the Joint Managing Authority. The account shall be set up in such a way that the transactions require signatures of both the authorising officer and the accounting officer. 2. If the bank account bears interest, any interest generated by the pre-financing payments shall be assigned to the joint operational programme and shall be declared to the Commission in the final report referred to in Article 32.
Accounts for the joint operational programme
Accounts for the joint operational programme shall be drawn up by the service within the Joint Managing Authority responsible for financial transactions. These accounts shall be independent and separate and shall include only transactions relating to the joint operational programme. They shall be kept in such a way as to enable analytical monitoring of the programme by objective, priority and measure. The Joint Managing Authority shall present the Joint Monitoring Committee with reports reconciling these accounts with the balance in the bank account for the programme to accompany the annual report and any request for additional pre-financing.
Contractual procedures
1. The contractual procedures for procurement contracts and grants necessary for implementation of the joint operational programme by the Joint Managing Authority shall be those applicable to external actions as defined in Articles 162 to 170 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 and Articles 231 to 256 of the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002. The procedures and related standard documents and contract templates to be used shall be those included in the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EC external actions with annexes in force at the time of the launching of procurement procedures or calls for proposals. 2. The eligibility rules for participation in the calls for tenders and calls for proposals shall be those referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 in conformity with Articles 40 and 41 of this Regulation. 3. These provisions shall be applicable to the entire geographical area of the programme, both on the territory of the Member States and on the territory of the partner countries.
Annual commitments by the Commission
Further to the initial commitment accompanying the decision adopting the joint operational programme, the Commission shall each year make the corresponding commitment no later than 31 March of the year concerned. The amount of this commitment shall be determined in accordance with the financial table detailing the provisional yearly allocations in the joint operational programme, and shall also depend on the programme's progress and the availability of funds. The Commission shall inform the Joint Managing Authority of the exact date on which the annual commitment is made.
Common rules for payments
1. The Commission shall make each payment from the Community contribution, subject to the availability of funds. The Commission shall automatically deduct any payment to the Joint Managing Authority from the oldest annual commitment tranche until the entire amount of this commitment has been spent. When the oldest annual commitment tranche has been entirely spent, the next annual commitment tranche may be used. 2. Payments shall be made in euro to the bank account of the joint operational programme. 3. Payments may take the form of pre-financing or the final balance.
Pre-financing
1. Each year, once the Joint Managing Authority has been notified of the budgetary commitment, it may request, as pre-financing, the transfer of up to 80 % of the Community contribution to the budget for the year in question. From the second year of the joint operational programme, requests for pre-financing shall be accompanied by the provisional annual financial report covering all expenditure and revenue from the previous year not yet certified in the annual external audit report, and by the provisional budget detailing the Joint Managing Authority's commitments and payments for the following year. After reviewing this report, assessing actual financing needs for the programme and verifying the availability of funds, the Commission shall proceed with the payment of all or part of the requested pre-financing. 2. In the course of the year, the Joint Managing Authority may ask for the transfer of all or part of the balance of the annual Community contribution, as additional pre-financing. In support of its request, the Joint Managing Authority shall submit an interim financial report showing that the expenditure actually incurred or likely to be incurred before the end of the year exceeds the amount of pre-financing already granted. Such subsequent transfers shall constitute additional pre-financing in so far as they are not certified by an external audit report. 3. In the second half of each year of the programme's implementation, the Commission shall clear previous pre-financing payments on the basis of eligible expenditure actually incurred, as certified by the annual external audit report referred to in Article 31. On the basis of the results of this clearance, the Commission may proceed with the necessary financial adjustments.
Recovery
1. The Joint Managing Authority shall be responsible for the recovery of any unjustified or ineligible expenditure and for the reimbursement to the Commission of its share or amounts recovered, in proportion to its contribution to the programme. Where ineligible expenditure already covered by a payment is identified on receipt of the final report for a contract or following a control or an audit, the Joint Managing Authority shall make out recovery orders to the beneficiaries or contractors concerned. 2. Where the recovery relates to a claim against a beneficiary, contractor or partner established in a Member State and the Joint Managing Authority is unable to recover the debt within one year of issuing the recovery order, the Member State in which the beneficiary, contractor or partner is established shall pay the amount owing to the Joint Managing Authority and claim it back from the beneficiary, contractor or partner. 3. Where the recovery relates to a claim against a beneficiary, contractor or partner established in a partner country and the Joint Managing Authority is unable to recover the debt within one year of the issuing of the recovery order, the Joint Managing Authority shall refer the case to the Commission, which, on the basis of a complete file, shall take over the task of recovering the amounts owing from the beneficiary, contractor or partner established in the partner country or directly from the national authorities of that country. 4. Files transferred to a Member State or to the Commission shall contain all the documents needed for recovery as well as proof of steps taken by the Joint Managing Authority to the beneficiary or contractor with a view to recovering the amounts owed. 5. The Joint Managing Authority shall exercise due diligence to ensure reimbursement within one year of the issuing of the recovery order. In particular it shall ensure that the claim is certain, of a fixed amount and due. Where the Joint Managing Authority is planning to waive recovery of an established debt, it shall ensure that the waiver is in order and complies with the principles of sound financial management and proportionality. The waiver decision must be substantiated and submitted to the Commission and the Joint Monitoring Committee for prior approval. 6. When the debt has not been recovered or a complete file, as referred to in paragraph 4, has not been transferred to the Member State or the Commission, due to the negligence of the Joint Managing Authority, the Joint Managing Authority shall remain responsible for the recovery after the one year period has elapsed and the amounts due shall be declared ineligible for Community financing. 7. Pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3, the contracts concluded by the Joint Managing Authority as part of the programme shall contain a clause allowing the Commission or the Member State concerned to carry out recovery from a beneficiary, contractor or partner where the claim is still open one year after the issue of the recovery order by the Joint Managing Authority.
Annual reports of the Joint Managing Authority
1. Each year, by 30 June at the latest, the Joint Managing Authority shall submit to the Commission an annual report, approved by the Joint Monitoring Committee and certified by the audit report referred to in Article 31, on implementation of the joint operational programme from 1 January to 31 December of the previous year. The first annual report shall be submitted by 30 June of the second year of the programme. 2. Each annual report shall contain: (a) a technical part describing: — the progress achieved in implementing the programme and its priorities, — the detailed list of the signed contracts as well as possible difficulties encountered, — the technical assistance activities carried out during the previous year, — the measures undertaken to monitor, evaluate and audit projects, their results and actions undertaken to remedy to the problems identified, — the information and communication activities, — the programme of activities to be implemented the following year. (b) a financial part giving, in euro, for each priority: — the amounts allocated to the Joint Managing Authority by the Commission as the Community contribution and by the participating countries as co-financing, as well as any other possible revenue for the programme, — the payments made and amounts recovered by the Joint Managing Authority for technical assistance and for the projects, as well as the report reconciling these with the bank account for the programme, — the amount of eligible expenditure incurred by the projects as presented by the beneficiaries in their reports and payment requests, — the provisional budget (commitments and expenditure) of the Joint Managing Authority for the following year. (c) a declaration signed by the representative of the Joint Managing Authority giving an assurance that the management and control systems set up by the programme in the course of the previous year continue to comply with the model approved by the Commission and that they have operated in such a way as to warrant a reasonable degree of confidence in the correctness of the financial report and in the legality and regularity of the transactions to which it relates.
Annual report of the internal audit service
1. The internal audit service of the Joint Managing Authority shall each year implement a control programme to check the internal circuits and ensure procedures have been correctly applied within the Joint Managing Authority. It shall draw up an annual report and send it to the representative of the Joint Managing Authority. 2. The Joint Managing Authority shall send the report referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission and to the Joint Monitoring Committee as an annex to the annual report referred to in Article 28.
Annual report on implementation of the audit plan for the projects
1. Each year the Joint Managing Authority shall draw up a report on the previous year's implementation of the audit plan for the projects, referred to in Article 37. The report shall describe in detail the methodology used by the Joint Managing Authority for selecting a representative sample of projects, as well as the controls carried out, the recommendations made and the conclusions drawn by the Joint Managing Authority in relation to the financial management of the projects concerned. 2. The Joint Managing Authority shall send the report referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission and to the Joint Monitoring Committee as an annex to the annual report referred to in Article 28.
External audit report
1. Independently of the external audits of the Joint Managing Authority undertaken by the administration of the country in which the Joint Managing Authority is established, the Joint Managing Authority shall call upon an independent public body or contract an independent approved auditor who is a member of an internationally recognised supervisory body for statutory auditing to carry out each year an ex post verification of the revenue and expenditure presented by the Joint Managing Authority in its annual financial report, in accordance with the standards and ethics of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). 2. The scope of the external audit shall cover the Joint Managing Authority's direct expenditure on technical assistance and project management (payments). The external audit report shall certify the statement of revenue and expenditure presented by the Joint Managing Authority in its annual financial report, and in particular it shall certify that stated expenditure has actually been incurred and is accurate and eligible. 3. The Joint Managing Authority shall send the external audit report to the Commission and to the Joint Monitoring Committee as an annex to the annual report referred to in Article 28.
Final report
The final report on implementation of the joint operational programme shall contain mutatis mutandis the same elements as the annual reports, including their annexes, for the entire duration of the programme. It shall be submitted by 30 June 2016 at the latest.
Eligible costs at joint operational programme level
1. In order to be eligible for Community financing, the expenditure of the joint operational programme must be incurred during the programme's period of execution, as defined in Article 43. 2. To be considered eligible as technical assistance costs, costs relating to the implementation of the joint operational programme by the Joint Managing Authority must: (a) be necessary for implementing the programme in compliance with the criteria defined by the programme and by the Joint Monitoring Committee and comply with the principles of sound financial management, in particular value for money and cost-effectiveness; (b) be recorded in the accounts of the programme, be identifiable, verifiable and backed by original supporting documents; (c) have been incurred in compliance with the relevant procurement procedures. 3. Subject to paragraphs 1 and 2, the following costs shall be eligible: (a) the cost of staff assigned to the programme, corresponding to actual salaries plus social security charges and other remuneration-related costs. Salaries and costs must not exceed those normally borne by the structures hosting the Joint Managing Authority or the Joint Technical Secretariat, unless it is justified by showing that this is essential to carrying out the joint operational programme; (b) travel and subsistence costs for staff and other persons taking part in the joint operational programme, provided they do not exceed those normally borne by the authorities appointed to manage the programme. Any flat-rate reimbursement of the subsistence costs must not exceed the rates of the scales published by the European Commission at the time of the adoption of the joint operational programme; (c) purchase or rental costs for equipment and supplies (new or used) specifically for the purposes of the Joint Managing Authority or the Joint Technical Secretariat for implementation of the joint operational programme and costs of services, provided they correspond to market rates; (d) the cost of consumables; (e) indirect costs to cover administrative overheads; (f) the subcontracting expenditure; (g) costs deriving directly from requirements imposed by this Regulation and the programme (for example, information and visibility operations, evaluations, external audits, translations etc.) including financial service costs (in particular the cost of bank transfers).
Non-eligible costs at joint operational programme level
The following costs relating to the implementation of the joint operational programme by the Joint Managing Authority shall not be considered eligible as technical assistance costs: (a) debts and provisions for losses or debts; (b) interest owed; (c) items already financed in another framework; (d) purchases of land or buildings; (e) exchange-rate losses; (f) taxes, including VAT, unless the Joint Managing Authority cannot reclaim them and the applicable regulations authorise coverage of taxes; (g) loans to third parties; (h) fines.
Contributions in kind at the joint operational programme level
Any contributions in kind from the participating countries, or any other source, shall be listed separately in the budget of the joint operational programme and shall not be eligible. They may not be considered part of the minimum 10 % co-financing requirement for the participating countries referred to in Article 20. The cost of staff assigned by participating countries to technical assistance for the programme shall not be considered a contribution in kind and cannot be considered as co-financing in the budget of the programme, with the exception of the initial in-kind contribution by the Joint Managing Authority referred to in Article 19(3) of this Regulation.
Eligible costs at projects level
1. Expenditure for each project shall be incurred during the period of execution of each relevant contract. 2. Eligible costs, non-eligible costs and the possibility of contributions in kind at project level shall be described in the contracts concluded with the beneficiaries or contractors.
Annual audit plan for projects
1. From the end of the first year of the joint operational programme, the Joint Managing Authority shall each year draw up an audit plan for the projects that it finances. 2. The controls referred to in paragraph 1 shall be conducted by examining the documents or conducting on-the-spot checks of a sample of projects selected by the Joint Managing Authority based on a random statistical sampling method taking account of internationally recognized audit standards, in particular having regard to risk factors related to the projects’ value, type of operations, type of beneficiary or other relevant elements. The sample shall be sufficiently representative to warrant a satisfactory level of confidence in relation to the direct controls carried out by the Joint Managing Authority on the existence, accuracy and eligibility of expenditure claimed by the projects.
Community control
The Commission, OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and any external auditor authorised by these institutions may verify, by examining the documents or conducting on-the-spot checks, the use of Community funds by the Joint Managing Authority and the various project beneficiaries and partners. These checks may take the form of a full audit on the basis of the supporting documents for the accounts, accounting documents and any other document relevant to the financing of the joint operational programme (including, for the Joint Managing Authority, all documents related to the selection procedures and to contracts) and of the project.
National control system
Member States may set up a control system making it possible to verify the soundness of the expenditure declared for operations or parts of operations implemented on their territories, and the compliance of such expenditure and of related operations, or parts of those operations, with Community rules and their national rules.
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Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.