1. The resources for the Fund available for budgetary commitment for the period 2014 - 2020 shall be EUR 3 395 684 880 in 2011 prices, in accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex II.
2. The allocation of the Fund for the period 2014–2020 for every Member State is set out in Annex III. The minimum amount for each Member State is EUR 3 500 000 for the whole period.
3. For the purpose of programming and subsequent inclusion in the general budget of the Union, the amount of resources shall be indexed at 2 % per year.
4. 0,35 % of the global resources shall be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.
1. Each Member State shall submit to the Commission, within six months of the entry into force of this Regulation, an OP I and/or an OP II, covering the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.
2. An OP I shall set out:
(a)
an identification of and a justification for selecting the type or types of material deprivation to be addressed under the operational programme and, for each type of material deprivation addressed, a description of the main characteristics of the distribution of food and/or basic material assistance and, where appropriate, of the accompanying measures to be provided, having regard to the results of the ex ante evaluation carried out in accordance with Article 16;
(b)
a description of the corresponding national scheme or schemes for each type of material deprivation addressed;
(c)
a description of the mechanism setting the eligibility criteria for the most deprived persons, differentiated where necessary by type of material deprivation addressed;
(d)
the criteria for the selection of operations and a description of the selection mechanism differentiated where necessary by type of material deprivation addressed;
(e)
the criteria for the selection of the partner organisations differentiated where necessary by type of material deprivation addressed;
(f)
a description of the mechanism used to ensure complementarity with the ESF;
(g)
a financing plan containing a table specifying, for the whole programming period, the amount of the total financial appropriation in respect of support from the operational programme, indicatively broken down by type of material deprivation addressed as well as the corresponding accompanying measures.
3. An OP II shall set out:
(a)
a strategy for the programme contribution to the promotion of social cohesion and poverty reduction in accordance with the Europe 2020 strategy, including a justification for the choice of assistance priority;
(b)
the specific objectives of the operational programme based on an identification of national needs, having regard to the results of the ex ante evaluation carried out in accordance with Article 16. The ex ante evaluation shall be submitted to the Commission at the same time as the operational programme;
(c)
a financing plan containing a table specifying, for the whole programming period, the amount of the total financial appropriation in respect of support from the operational programme, indicatively broken down by type of action;
(d)
the identification of the most deprived persons to be targetted;
(e)
the financial indicators relating to the corresponding expenditure allocated;
(f)
the expected results for the specific objectives and the corresponding programme specific output and result indicators with a base line and target values;
(g)
a description of the type and examples of actions to be supported and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (b) including the guiding principles for the selection of operations and, where appropriate, the identification of the types of beneficiaries;
(h)
a description of the mechanism to ensure complementarity with the ESF, as well as to prevent overlap and double-financing of operations.
4. In addition, each operational programme shall set out:
(a)
the identification of the managing authority, the certifying authority where applicable, the audit authority and the body to which payments are to be made by the Commission and a description of the monitoring procedure;
(b)
a description of the measures taken to involve all relevant stakeholders as well as, where appropriate, the competent regional, local and other public authorities in the preparation of the operational programme;
(c)
a description of the planned use of technical assistance in accordance with Article 27(4), including actions to reinforce the administrative capacity of the beneficiaries in relation to the implementation of the operational programme;
(d)
a financing plan containing a table specifying for each year in accordance with Article 20 the amount of the financial appropriation envisaged for support from the Fund and the co-financing in accordance with Article 20.
The partner organisations referred to in point (e) of Article 7(2) that deliver directly the food and/or basic material assistance shall themselves or in cooperation with other organisations undertake activities, where appropriate consisting of a re-orientation towards competent services, that complement the provision of material assistance, aiming at the social inclusion of the most deprived persons, whether or not these activities are supported by the Fund. However, such accompanying measures shall not be compulsory in cases where the food and/or basic material assistance is provided solely to most deprived children in childcare or comparable facilities.
5. Member States or any authority designated by them shall draw up operational programmes. They shall cooperate with all relevant stakeholders as well as, where appropriate, the competent regional, local and other public authorities. Member States shall ensure that the operational programmes are closely linked to national social inclusion policies.
6. Member States shall draft their operational programmes in accordance with the templates set out in Annex I as appropriate.
1. The Commission shall assess the consistency of each operational programme with this Regulation and its contribution to the objectives of the Fund, taking into account the ex ante evaluation carried out in accordance with Article 16. The Commission shall ensure that there is no overlap with any operational programme financed by the ESF in the Member State.
2. The Commission may make observations within three months of the date of submission of the operational programme. The Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information and, where appropriate, revise the proposed operational programme.
3. Provided that any observations made by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 2 have been adequately taken into account, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, approve each operational programme no later than six months after its submission by the Member State.
1. A Member State may submit a request for amendment of an operational programme. The request shall be accompanied by the revised operational programme and the justification for the amendment.
2. The Commission shall assess the information provided in accordance with paragraph 1, taking account of the justification provided by the Member State. The Commission may make observations and the Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information.
3. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, approve the amendment of an operational programme no later than four months after its submission by the Member State provided that any observations made by the Commission have been adequately taken into account.
The Commission shall facilitate, including by means of a website, the exchange of experience, capacity building and networking, as well as dissemination of relevant outcomes in the area of non-financial assistance to the most deprived persons.
Relevant organisations that do not make use of the Fund may also be included.
In addition, the Commission shall consult, at least once a year, the organisations which represent the partner organisations at Union level on the implementation of support from the Fund and, following such consultation, shall report back to the European Parliament and to the Council in due course.
The Commission shall also facilitate the online dissemination of relevant outcomes, reports and information in relation to the Fund.
