Financing of activities in support of this Regulation
1. The Union may finance the following activities in support of this Regulation:
(a)
awareness-raising campaigns;
(b)
education and training;
(c)
exchange of officials and of best practices;
(d)
cooperation among Product Contact Points and competent authorities, and the technical and logistic support for this cooperation;
(e)
the collection of data related to the functioning of the principle of mutual recognition and its impact on the Single Market for goods.
2. The Union's financial assistance with respect to activities in support of this Regulation shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 ) , either directly or by entrusting budget implementation tasks to the entities listed in point (c) of Article 62(1) of that Regulation.
3. The appropriations allocated to activities referred to in this Regulation shall be determined each year by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial framework in force.
Protection of the financial interests of the Union
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when activities financed under this Regulation 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 and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties.
2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and of on-the-spot inspections, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under this Regulation.
3. The European Anti-Fraud Office (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 ( 19 ) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 20 ) 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 or grant decision or a contract funded under this Regulation.
4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions, resulting from the implementation of this Regulation 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.
