Responsibilities of the EDF Committee
1. The EDF Committee established by Article 8 of the Internal Agreement shall give its opinion in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article.
An observer from the EIB shall take part in the EDF Committee's proceedings with regard to questions concerning the EIB.
2. The EDF Committee's tasks shall cover the responsibilities laid down in Titles II and III of this Regulation:
(a)
programming of Union aid under the 11th EDF and programming reviews focusing in particular on country, regional and intra-ACP strategies; and
(b)
monitoring the implementation and evaluation of Union aid, covering amongst others the impact of assistance on the reduction of poverty, sectoral aspects, cross-cutting issues, the functioning of field-level coordination with Member States and other donors and progress on the aid effectiveness principles referred to in Article 2.
For budget support programmes on which the EDF Committee expressed a positive opinion but that are suspended during implementation, the Commission shall inform the Committee in advance about the suspension and the subsequent decision to resume disbursements.
Each Member State can invite the Commission at any moment to provide the EDF Committee with information and to have an exchange of views on issues related to the tasks referred to in this paragraph. Such an exchange of views may lead to the formulation of recommendations by the Member States, which the Commission shall take into account.
3. When the EDF Committee is called upon to give its opinion, the representative of the Commission shall submit to the EDF Committee within the time limits set out in the Council Decision on the rules of procedures of the EDF Committee referred to in Article 8(5) of the Internal Agreement, a draft of the measures to be taken. The EDF Committee shall deliver its opinion within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter but which shall not exceed 30 days. The EIB shall take part in the exchange of views. The opinion shall be delivered by the qualified majority laid down in Article 8(3) of the Internal Agreement on the basis of the votes of the Member States weighted in the manner set out in Article 8(2) of the Internal Agreement.
When the EDF Committee has delivered its opinion, the Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately.
However, if those measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the EDF Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In such a case, the Commission shall defer the application of the measures for a period which shall in principle not exceed 30 days from the date of such communication, but which may be prolonged for a period of up to 30 days in exceptional circumstances. The Council, acting by the same qualified majority as the EDF Committee, may take a different decision within this period.
4. On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency as provided for in Article 7(4) and Article 9(4), the Commission shall adopt the measures which shall apply immediately, without prior submission to the EDF Committee, and which shall remain in force for the duration of the adopted or modified document, action programme or measure.
At the latest 14 days after its adoption, the chair shall submit the measures to the EDF Committee in order to obtain its opinion.
In the event of the EDF Committee delivering a negative opinion in line with paragraph 3 of this Article, the Commission shall immediately repeal the measures adopted in accordance with the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
The African Peace Facility
The intra-ACP indicative programmes shall earmark funding for the African Peace Facility. That funding may be complemented by the regional indicative programmes. A specific procedure shall apply as follows:
(a)
on a request from the African Union, endorsed by the ACP Committee of Ambassadors, pluriannual action programmes shall be prepared by the Commission specifying the objectives pursued, the scope and nature of the possible interventions and the implementation arrangements; an agreed format for reporting shall be specified at intervention level. An annex to each action programme shall describe the specific decision-making procedures for each possible type of intervention according to its nature, size and urgency;
(b)
the action programmes, including the annex referred to in point (a), and any changes thereto shall be discussed by the relevant preparatory Council working groups and the Political and Security Committee, and shall be approved by Coreper by qualified majority as laid down in Article 8(3) of the Internal Agreement, before being adopted by the Commission;
(c)
the action programmes, excluding the annex referred to in point (a), shall be the basis for the financing agreement to be concluded between the Commission and the African Union;
(d)
each intervention to be implemented under the financing agreement shall be subject to the prior approval of the Political and Security Committee; the relevant preparatory Council working groups shall be informed or, at least when new peace support operations are to be financed, consulted in due time prior to their transmission to the Political and Security Committee in accordance with the specific decision-making procedures referred to in point (a) in order to ensure that, in addition to the military and security dimension, the development and finance related aspects of the envisaged measures are being taken into account. Without prejudice to the financing of peace support operations, special attention shall be given to activities recognised as ODA;
(e)
the Commission shall prepare an activity report on the use of the funds for the information of the Council and the EDF Committee on an annual basis and at the request of the Council or the EDF Committee, distinguishing between ODA and non-ODA related commitments and disbursements.
At the end of the first pluriannual action programme, the Union and its Member States will review the results and procedures of the African Peace Facility and will discuss options regarding future funding possibilities. In that context, and in order to put the African Peace Facility on a sounder footing, the Union and its Member States will hold discussions addressing both the issue of funds for peace support operations, including those financed from the EDF, and the issue of sustainable Union support to African-led peace support operations beyond 2020. In addition, the Commission will conduct an evaluation of the Facility no later than 2018.
The Investment Facility Committee
1. The Investment Facility (IF) Committee set up under the auspices of the EIB by Article 9 of the Internal Agreement shall consist of the representatives of the Member States and a representative of the Commission. An observer from the General Secretariat of the Council and an observer from the European External Action Service shall be invited to attend. Each Member State, as well as the Commission, shall nominate one representative and one designated alternate. With a view to maintaining continuity, the Chairman of the IF Committee shall be elected by and from among the members of the IF Committee for a period of two years. The EIB shall provide the Committee's secretariat and support services. Only the members of the IF Committee designated by the Member States, or their alternates, shall vote.
The Council, acting unanimously, shall adopt the rules of procedure of the IF Committee on the basis of a proposal drawn up by the EIB after consulting the Commission.
The IF Committee shall act by qualified majority. The weighting of the votes shall be as laid down in Article 8 of the Internal Agreement.
The IF Committee shall meet at least four times a year. Additional meetings may be convened at the request of the EIB or of the members of the IF Committee as set out in its rules of procedure. In addition, the IF Committee may deliver an opinion by written procedure in accordance with its rules of procedure.
2. The IF Committee shall approve:
(a)
the operational guidelines on the implementation of the IF;
(b)
the investment strategies and business plans of the IF, including performance indicators, on the basis of the objectives of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement and of the general principles of Union development policy;
(c)
the annual reports of the IF;
(d)
any general policy document, including evaluation reports, concerning the IF.
3. The IF Committee shall deliver an opinion on:
(a)
proposals to grant an interest subsidy under Article 2(7) and point (b) of Article 4(2) of Annex II to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. In such cases, the IF Committee shall also deliver an opinion on the use of such an interest subsidy;
(b)
proposals for an IF investment for any project in respect of which the Commission has delivered a negative opinion;
(c)
other proposals relating to the IF based on the general principles defined in the operational guidelines of the IF;
(d)
proposals related to the development of the EIB's result measurement framework to the extent that such framework is applicable to operations pursuant to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.
In order to streamline the approval process for small operations, the IF Committee may give its favourable opinion on proposals from the EIB for a global allocation (interest subsidies, technical assistance) or global authorisation (lending, equity), that shall subsequently, without further opinion from the IF Committee and/or the Commission, be sub-allocated by the EIB to individual projects in accordance with criteria set out in the global allocation or authorisation, including the maximum sub-allocation per project.
In addition, the governing bodies of the EIB may, from time to time, request the IF Committee to deliver an opinion on all financing proposals, or on certain categories of financing proposals.
4. The EIB shall submit to the IF Committee in a timely manner any matters that require the approval or opinion of the IF Committee, as provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 respectively. Any proposal submitted to the IF Committee for an opinion shall be made in accordance with the relevant criteria and principles set out in the operational guidelines of the IF.
5. The EIB shall cooperate closely with the Commission and, where applicable, shall coordinate its operations with other donors. In particular, the EIB shall:
(a)
prepare or revise jointly with the Commission the operational guidelines of the IF referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2. The EIB shall be held accountable for compliance with the guidelines and shall ensure that the projects it supports respect international social and environmental standards and are coherent with the objectives of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, with the general principles of Union development policy and with the relevant country or regional cooperation strategies;
(b)
request the opinion of the Commission in preparation of the investment strategies, business plans and general policy documents;
(c)
inform the Commission on the projects it administers in accordance with Article 18(1). At the appraisal stage of a project, it shall request the opinion of the Commission on its coherence with the relevant country cooperation strategy or regional cooperation strategy or, as the case may be, with the general objectives of the IF;
(d)
with the exception of interest subsidies falling within the global allocation referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3, request the agreement of the Commission at the appraisal stage of a project on any proposal made to the IF Committee for an interest subsidy, as regards its compliance with Article 2(7) and Article 4(2) of Annex II to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, and with the criteria defined in the operational guidelines of the IF.
The Commission shall be deemed to have rendered a favourable opinion on or to have agreed to a proposal unless it notifies a negative opinion on such a proposal within three weeks following the submission of the proposal. As regards opinions for financial or public sector projects, as well as agreements to interest rate subsidies, the Commission may request that the final project proposal be submitted for its opinion or approval two weeks before it being sent to the IF Committee.
6. The EIB shall not proceed with any action referred to in points (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph 3 unless the IF Committee has given a favourable opinion.
Following a favourable opinion of the IF Committee, the EIB shall decide on the proposal in accordance with its own procedures. In particular it may decide not to proceed with the proposal. The EIB shall periodically inform the IF Committee and the Commission of cases in which it decides not to proceed with the proposal.
For loans from its own resources and for IF investments for which no opinion of the IF Committee is required, the EIB shall decide on the proposal in accordance with its own procedures and, in the case of the IF, in accordance with the operational guidelines of the IF and the investment strategies approved by the IF Committee.
Notwithstanding a negative opinion of the IF Committee on a proposal to grant an interest subsidy, the EIB may proceed with the loan in question without the benefit of the interest subsidy. The EIB shall periodically inform the IF Committee and the Commission of each occasion on which it so decides to proceed with the loan.
The EIB may, subject to conditions laid down in the operational guidelines of the IF and provided that the essential objective of the loan or IF investment in question be unchanged, decide to modify the terms of an IF loan or investment on which the IF Committee has given a favourable opinion under paragraph 3 or of any loan on which the IF Committee has given a favourable opinion regarding interest subsidies. In particular, the EIB may decide to increase the amount of the loan or IF investment by up to 20 %.
Such an increase may, for projects with interest subsidies referred to in Article 2(7) of Annex II to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, result in a proportionate increase in the value of the interest subsidy. The EIB shall periodically inform the IF Committee and the Commission of each occasion on which it so decides to proceed. For projects pursuant to Article 2(7) of Annex II to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, if an increase in the value of the subsidy is requested, the IF Committee shall be required to deliver an opinion before the EIB proceeds.
7. The EIB shall manage IF investments and all funds held on account of the IF in accordance with the objectives of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. It may, in particular, take part in the management and supervisory bodies of legal persons in which the IF is invested, and may compromise, discharge and modify the rights held on account of the IF in accordance with the operational guidelines of the IF.
