SECTION 1 — Common provisions
General principles
1. Support provided under the Fund shall complement national, regional and local intervention, and shall focus on bringing Union added value to the achievement of the objectives of the Fund.
2. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that the support provided under the Fund and by the Member States is consistent with the relevant actions, policies and priorities of the Union and is complementary to support provided under other Union instruments.
3. The Fund shall be implemented under shared, direct or indirect management in accordance with points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation.
Budget
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Fund for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 shall be EUR 1 931 000 000 in current prices.
2. The financial envelope shall be used as follows:
(a)
EUR 1 352 000 000 shall be allocated to the Member States’ programmes;
(b)
EUR 579 000 000 shall be allocated to the thematic facility referred to in Article 8.
3. At the initiative of the Commission, up to 0,84 % of the financial envelope shall be allocated to technical assistance, as referred to in Article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, for the implementation of the Fund.
4. In accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, up to 5 % of the initial allocation to a Member State from any of the funds under that Regulation under shared management may be transferred to the Fund under direct or indirect management at the request of that Member State. The Commission shall implement those resources directly in accordance with point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation or indirectly in accordance with point (c) of that subparagraph. Those resources shall be used for the benefit of the Member State concerned.
General provisions on the implementation of the thematic facility
1. The amount referred to in point (b) of Article 7(2) shall be allocated flexibly through a thematic facility, using shared, direct or indirect management as set out in work programmes.
Funding from the thematic facility shall be used for its components, which are as follows:
(a)
specific actions;
(b)
Union actions; and
(c)
emergency assistance as referred to in Article 25.
Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, as referred to in Article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, shall also receive support from the amount referred to in point (b) of Article 7(2) of this Regulation.
2. Funding from the thematic facility shall address priorities with a high Union added value or be used to respond to urgent needs, in line with agreed Union priorities as reflected in Annex II. Funding from the thematic facility shall be used for supporting actions in or in relation to third countries, within the objectives of the Fund, in particular in order to contribute to combating and preventing crime, including drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings and combating cross-border criminal smuggling networks.
The allocation of the resources of the thematic facility among the different priorities shall, as far as possible, be proportionate to the challenges and needs, so as to ensure that the objectives of the Fund can be met.
3. The Commission shall engage with civil society organisations and relevant networks, in particular with a view to preparing and evaluating the work programmes for Union actions financed under the Fund.
4. When funding from the thematic facility is provided under direct or indirect management to Member States, the Commission shall ensure that projects affected by a reasoned opinion delivered by the Commission in respect of infringement proceedings under Article 258 TFEU that put in doubt the legality and regularity of expenditure or the performance of those projects are not selected.
5. For the purposes of Article 23 and Article 24(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, where funding from the thematic facility is implemented under shared management, the Member State concerned shall ensure that, and the Commission shall assess whether, the envisaged actions are not affected by a reasoned opinion delivered by the Commission in respect of infringement proceedings under Article 258 TFEU that put in doubt the legality and regularity of expenditure or the performance of the actions.
6. The Commission shall establish the overall amount to be made available for the thematic facility under the annual appropriations of the Union budget.
7. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt financing decisions as referred to in Article 110 of the Financial Regulation for the thematic facility, identifying objectives and actions to be supported and specifying the amounts for each of the components referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article. Such financing decisions shall set out, where applicable, the overall amount reserved for blending operations. Financing decisions may be annual or multiannual and may cover one or more components of the thematic facility referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(3) of this Regulation.
8. Following the adoption of a financing decision as referred to in paragraph 7, the Commission may amend the Member States’ programmes accordingly.
SECTION 2 — Support and implementation under shared management
Scope
1. This section applies to the amount referred to in point (a) of Article 7(2) and the additional resources to be implemented under shared management in accordance with the financing decision for the thematic facility referred to in Article 8.
2. Support under this section shall be implemented under shared management in accordance with Article 63 of the Financial Regulation and with Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
Budgetary resources
1. The amount referred to in point (a) of Article 7(2) shall be allocated to Member States’ programmes indicatively as follows:
(a)
EUR 1 127 000 000 in accordance with Annex I;
(b)
EUR 225 000 000 for the adjustment of the allocations to the Member States’ programmes referred to in Article 14(1).
2. Where the amount referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article is not fully allocated, the remaining amount may be added to the amount referred to in point (b) of Article 7(2).
Pre-financing
1. In accordance with Article 90(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the pre-financing for the Fund shall be paid in yearly instalments before 1 July of each year, subject to the availability of funds, as follows:
(a)
2021: 4 %;
(b)
2022: 3 %;
(c)
2023: 5 %;
(d)
2024: 5 %;
(e)
2025: 5 %;
(f)
2026: 5 %.
2. Where a Member State’s programme is adopted after 1 July 2021, the earlier instalments shall be paid in the year of its adoption.
Co-financing rates
1. The contribution from the Union budget shall not exceed 75 % of the total eligible expenditure for a project.
2. The contribution from the Union budget may be increased to 90 % of the total eligible expenditure for projects implemented under specific actions.
3. The contribution from the Union budget may be increased to 90 % of the total eligible expenditure for actions listed in Annex IV.
4. The contribution from the Union budget may be increased to 100 % of the total eligible expenditure for operating support.
5. The contribution from the Union budget may be increased to 100 % of the total eligible expenditure for emergency assistance as referred to in Article 25.
6. The contribution from the Union budget may be increased to 100 % of the total eligible expenditure for technical assistance at the initiative of Member States, within the limits set out in point (b)(vi) of Article 36(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
7. The Commission decision approving a Member State’s programme shall set the co-financing rate and the maximum amount of support from the Fund for the types of action covered by the contribution referred to in paragraphs 1 to 6.
8. The Commission decision approving a Member State’s programme shall set out for each type of action whether the co-financing rate is applied in respect of:
(a)
the total contribution, including the public and private contributions; or
(b)
the public contribution only.
Member States’ programmes
1. Each Member State shall ensure that the priorities addressed in its programmes are consistent with and respond to Union priorities and challenges in the area of security and are fully in accordance with the relevant Union acquis and agreed Union priorities. In defining the priorities of their programmes, Member States shall ensure that the implementation measures listed in in Annex II are adequately addressed in their programmes.
The Commission shall assess the Member States’ programmes in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, and without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article, each Member State shall allocate:
(a)
a minimum of 10 % of the resources allocated under Article 10(1) to the specific objective set out in point (a) of Article 3(2); and
(b)
a minimum of 10 % of the resources allocated under Article 10(1) to the specific objective set out in point (b) of Article 3(2).
3. A Member State may allocate less than the minimum percentages referred to in paragraph 2 only if it provides a detailed explanation in its programme as to why allocating resources below that level would not jeopardise the achievement of the relevant objective.
4. The Commission shall ensure that the knowledge and expertise of the relevant decentralised agencies are taken into account, at an early stage and in a timely manner, in the development of the Member States’ programmes.
5. In order to avoid overlaps, Member States shall consult the relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies on the design of their actions, in particular when implementing EU policy cycle/EMPACT operational actions or actions coordinated by the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT), and on the design of training activities.
6. The Commission may involve, where appropriate, relevant decentralised agencies in the monitoring and evaluation tasks specified in Section 5, in particular with a view to ensuring that the actions implemented with the support of the Fund are compliant with the relevant Union acquis and agreed Union priorities.
7. A maximum of 35 % of the allocation of a Member State’s programme may be used for the purchase of equipment, means of transport or the construction of security-relevant facilities. This ceiling may be exceeded only in duly justified cases.
8. In their programmes, Member States shall give priority to addressing:
(a)
agreed Union priorities and the acquis in the area of security, in particular the efficient exchange of relevant and accurate information and the implementation of the components of the framework for interoperability of EU information systems;
(b)
recommendations with financial implications made within the framework of Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013 and falling within the scope of this Regulation;
(c)
country-specific deficiencies with financial implications identified in the framework of needs assessments such as European Semester recommendations in the area of corruption.
9. Where necessary, the programme of the Member State in question shall be amended in accordance with Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 to take into account the recommendations referred to in point (b) of paragraph 8 of this Article.
10. Member States shall in particular pursue the actions listed in Annex IV in their programmes. To address unforeseen or new circumstances and to ensure the effective implementation of funding, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend Annex IV.
11. Whenever a Member State decides to implement a project supported by the Fund with, in or in relation to a third country, the Member State concerned shall consult the Commission prior to the approval of the project.
12. Programming as referred to in Article 22(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 shall be based on the types of intervention set out in Table 2 of Annex VI to this Regulation and shall include an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources by type of intervention within each specific objective set out in Article 3(2) of this Regulation.
Mid-term review
1. In 2024, the Commission shall allocate to the programmes of the Member States concerned the additional amount referred to in point (b) of Article 10(1) in accordance with the criteria referred to in point (2) of the first paragraph of Annex I. Funding shall be effective as of 1 January 2025.
2. Where at least 10 % of the initial allocation to a programme referred to in point (a) of Article 10(1) of this Regulation has not been covered by payment applications submitted in accordance with Article 91 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the Member State concerned shall not be eligible to receive the additional allocation for its programme referred to in point (b) of Article 10(1) of this Regulation.
3. When allocating the funds from the thematic facility referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation as of 1 January 2025, the Commission shall take into account the progress made by the Member States in achieving the milestones of the performance framework referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and identified shortcomings in implementation.
Specific actions
1. A Member State may receive funding for specific actions in addition to its allocation under Article 10(1), provided that that funding is subsequently earmarked as such in its programme and is used to contribute to the implementation of the objectives of the Fund, including covering newly emerging threats.
2. Funding for specific actions shall not be used for other actions in the Member State’s programme, except in duly justified circumstances and as approved by the Commission through the amendment of the Member State’s programme.
Operating support
1. A Member State may use up to 20 % of the amount allocated to its programme under the Fund to finance operating support for the public authorities responsible for carrying out the tasks and providing the services which constitute a public service for the Union.
2. When using operating support, a Member State shall comply with the Union acquis on security.
3. A Member State shall explain, in its programme and in the annual performance reports referred to in Article 30, how the use of operating support will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Fund. Before the approval of the Member State’s programme, the Commission shall assess the baseline situation in the Member States which have indicated their intention to use operating support, taking into account the information provided by those Member States, as well as any recommendations from quality control and evaluation mechanisms such as the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism or other quality control and evaluation mechanisms, as applicable.
4. Operating support shall be concentrated on actions covered by expenditure as laid down in Annex VII.
5. To address unforeseen or new circumstances or to ensure the effective implementation of funding, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend Annex VII in respect of expenditure that is eligible for operating support.
Management verifications and audits of projects carried out by international organisations
1. This Article applies to international organisations or their agencies as referred to in point (c)(ii) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation whose systems, rules and procedures have been positively assessed by the Commission pursuant to Article 154(4) and (7) of that Regulation for the purpose of indirectly implementing grants financed from the Union budget (‘international organisations’).
2. Without prejudice to point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 83 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and to Article 129 of the Financial Regulation, where the international organisation is a beneficiary as defined in point (9) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the managing authority shall not be required to carry out the management verifications referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 74(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, provided that the international organisation submits to the managing authority the documents referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 155(1) of the Financial Regulation.
3. Without prejudice to point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 155(1) of the Financial Regulation, the management declaration to be submitted by the international organisation shall confirm that the project complies with applicable law and the conditions for support of the project.
4. In addition, where costs are to be reimbursed pursuant to point (a) of Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the management declaration to be submitted by the international organisation shall confirm that:
(a)
invoices and proof of their payment by the beneficiary have been verified;
(b)
the accounting records or accounting codes maintained by the beneficiary for transactions linked to the expenditure declared to the managing authority have been verified.
5. Where costs are to be reimbursed pursuant to point (b), (c) or (d) of Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the management declaration to be submitted by the international organisation shall confirm that the conditions for reimbursement of expenditure have been met.
6. The documents referred to in points (a) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 155(1) of the Financial Regulation shall be provided to the managing authority together with each payment claim submitted by the beneficiary.
7. The beneficiary shall submit the accounts to the managing authority each year by 15 October. The accounts shall be accompanied by an opinion of an independent audit body that has been drawn up in accordance with internationally accepted audit standards. That opinion shall establish whether the control systems in place function properly and are cost-effective, and whether the underlying transactions are legal and regular. That opinion shall also state whether the audit work puts in doubt the assertions made in the management declarations submitted by the international organisation, including information on suspicions of fraud. That opinion shall provide assurance that the expenditure included in the payment claims submitted by the international organisation to the managing authority is legal and regular.
8. Without prejudice to existing possibilities for carrying out further audits as referred to in Article 127 of the Financial Regulation, the managing authority shall draw up the management declaration referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 74(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. The managing authority shall do so by relying on the documents provided by the international organisation pursuant to paragraphs 2 to 5 and 7 of this Article, instead of by relying on the management verifications referred to in Article 74(1) of that Regulation.
9. The document setting out the conditions for support referred to in Article 73(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 shall include the requirements set out in this Article.
10. Paragraph 2 shall not apply, and consequently a managing authority shall be required to carry out management verifications, where:
(a)
that managing authority identifies a specific risk of irregularity or an indication of fraud with respect to a project initiated or implemented by the international organisation;
(b)
the international organisation fails to submit to that managing authority the documents referred to in paragraphs 2 to 5 and 7; or
(c)
the documents referred to in paragraphs 2 to 5 and 7 that have been submitted by the international organisation are incomplete.
11. Where a project in which an international organisation is a beneficiary as defined in point (9) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 is part of a sample as referred to in Article 79 of that Regulation, the audit authority may perform its work on the basis of a sub-sample of transactions that relate to that project. Where errors are found in the sub-sample, the audit authority, if relevant, may request the auditor of the international organisation to assess the full scope and the total amount of errors in that project.
SECTION 3 — Support and implementation under direct or indirect management
Scope
The Commission shall implement support under this section either directly in accordance with point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation or indirectly in accordance with point (c) of that subparagraph.
Eligible entities
1. The following entities are eligible for Union financing:
(a)
legal entities established in:
(i)
a Member State or an overseas country or territory linked to it;
(ii)
a third country listed in the work programme, under the conditions specified in paragraph 3;
(b)
legal entities created under Union law or any international organisation relevant for the purposes of the Fund.
2. Natural persons are not eligible for Union financing.
3. Entities as referred to in point (a)(ii) of paragraph 1 shall participate as part of a consortium composed of at least two independent entities, at least one of which is established in a Member State.
Entities participating as part of a consortium as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall ensure that the actions in which they participate comply with the principles enshrined in the Charter and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Fund.
Union actions
1. At the Commission’s initiative, the Fund may be used to finance Union actions related to the objectives of the Fund.
2. Union actions may provide funding in any of the forms laid down in the Financial Regulation, in particular grants, prizes and procurement. They may also provide funding in the form of financial instruments within blending operations.
3. Exceptionally, decentralised agencies may also be eligible for funding within the framework of Union actions when they assist in the implementation of Union actions falling within the competence of those decentralised agencies, and those actions are not covered by the Union contribution to the budget of those decentralised agencies through the annual budget.
4. Grants implemented under direct management shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation.
5. Members of the evaluation committee assessing the proposals, referred to in Article 150 of the Financial Regulation, may be external experts.
6. Contributions to a mutual insurance mechanism may cover the risk associated with the recovery of funds due by recipients and shall be considered a sufficient guarantee under the Financial Regulation. Article 37(7) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 shall apply.
Blending operations
Blending operations under the Fund shall be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and Title X of the Financial Regulation.
Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission
In accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the Fund may support technical assistance implemented at the initiative of, or on behalf of, the Commission, at a financing rate of 100 %.
Audits
Audits of the use of the Union contribution carried out by persons or entities, including by persons or entities other than those mandated by Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, shall form the basis of the overall assurance pursuant to Article 127 of the Financial Regulation.
Information, communication and publicity
1. The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin of those funds and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, in particular when promoting actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective, meaningful and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public. The visibility of Union funding shall be ensured and such information shall be provided, except in duly justified cases where it is not possible or appropriate to display such information publicly or where the release of such information is restricted by law, in particular for reasons of security, public order, criminal investigations or the protection of personal data. To ensure the visibility of Union funding, recipients of Union funding shall refer to the origin of that funding when publicly communicating on the action concerned, and shall display the Union emblem.
2. To reach the widest possible audience, the Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the Fund, to actions taken pursuant to the Fund and to the results obtained.
Financial resources allocated to the Fund shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as those priorities are related to the objectives of the Fund.
3. The Commission shall publish the work programmes of the thematic facility referred to in Article 8. For support provided under direct or indirect management, the Commission shall publish the information referred to in Article 38(2) of the Financial Regulation on a publicly available website and shall update that information regularly. That information shall be published in an open, machine-readable format which allows data to be sorted, searched, extracted and compared.
SECTION 4 — Support and implementation under shared, direct or indirect management
Emergency assistance
1. The Fund shall provide financial assistance to address urgent and specific needs in the event of duly justified emergency situations.
In response to such duly justified emergency situations, the Commission may provide emergency assistance within the limits of available resources.
2. Emergency assistance may take the form of grants awarded directly to the decentralised agencies.
3. Emergency assistance may be allocated to Member States’ programmes in addition to the allocation under Article 10(1), provided that it is subsequently earmarked as such in the Member State’s programme. That funding shall not be used for other actions in the Member State’s programme except in duly justified circumstances and as approved by the Commission through the amendment of the Member State’s programme. Pre-financing for emergency assistance may amount to 95 % of the Union contribution, subject to the availability of funds.
4. Grants implemented under direct management shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation.
5. Where necessary for the implementation of an action, emergency assistance may cover expenditure which was incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application or the request for assistance for that action, provided that that expenditure was not incurred prior to 1 January 2021.
6. On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency and to ensure that there is a timely availability of resources for emergency assistance, the Commission may separately adopt a financing decision, as referred to in Article 110 of the Financial Regulation, for emergency assistance by way of an immediately applicable implementing act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 33(4). Such an act shall remain in force for a period not exceeding 18 months.
Cumulative and alternative financing
1. An action that has received a contribution under the Fund may also receive a contribution from any other Union programme, including Funds under shared management, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution to the action. The cumulative financing shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action. The support from the different Union programmes may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support.
2. In accordance with Article 73(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the European Regional Development Fund or the European Social Fund Plus may support actions attributed a Seal of Excellence label as defined in point (45) of Article 2 of that Regulation. In order to be attributed a Seal of Excellence label, the actions shall comply with the following cumulative conditions:
(a)
they have been assessed in a call for proposals under the Fund;
(b)
they comply with the minimum quality requirements of that call for proposals; and
(c)
they cannot be financed under that call for proposals due to budgetary constraints.
SECTION 5 — Monitoring, reporting and evaluation
Subsection 1 — Common provisions
Monitoring and reporting
1. In compliance with its reporting requirements pursuant to point (h)(iii) of the first subparagraph of Article 41(3) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council information on the core performance indicators listed in Annex V to this Regulation.
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend Annex V in order to make the necessary adjustments to the core performance indicators listed in that Annex.
3. Indicators to report on the progress of the Fund towards the achievement of the specific objectives set out in Article 3(2) are set out in Annex VIII. For output indicators, the baselines shall be set at zero. The milestones set for 2024 and the targets set for 2029 shall be cumulative.
4. The performance reporting system shall ensure that data for monitoring the implementation and the results of the programme are collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on recipients of Union funds and, where appropriate, on Member States.
5. To ensure the effective assessment of the Fund’s progress towards the achievement of its objectives, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend Annex VIII to review or complement the indicators where considered necessary and to supplement this Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework, including on project information to be provided by the Member States. Any amendment to Annex VIII shall apply only to projects selected after the entry into force of that amendment.
Reporting on the thematic facility
The Commission shall report on the use and distribution of the thematic facility, referred to in Article 8, between its components, including on the support provided to actions in or in relation to third countries under Union actions. When, on the basis of the information presented to it, the European Parliament makes recommendations for actions to be supported under the thematic facility, the Commission shall endeavour to take such recommendations into account.
Evaluation
1. By 31 December 2024, the Commission shall carry out a mid-term evaluation of this Regulation. In addition to what is provided for in Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the mid-term evaluation shall assess the following:
(a)
the effectiveness of the Fund, including the progress made towards the achievement of its objectives, taking into account all relevant information already available, in particular the annual performance reports referred to in Article 30 and the output and result indicators set out in Annex VIII;
(b)
the efficiency of the use of resources allocated to the Fund and the efficiency of the management and control measures put in place to implement it;
(c)
the continued relevance and appropriateness of the implementation measures listed in Annex II;
(d)
the coordination, coherence and complementarity between the actions supported under the Fund and support provided by other Union funds;
(e)
the Union added value of actions implemented under the Fund.
That midterm evaluation shall take into account the results of the retrospective evaluation of the effects of the Internal Security Fund for the 2014-2020 period.
2. In addition to what is provided for in Article 45(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the retrospective evaluation shall include the elements listed in paragraph 1 of this Article. Moreover, the impact of the Fund shall be evaluated.
3. The mid-term evaluation and the retrospective evaluation shall be carried out in a timely manner in order to contribute to the decision-making process, including, where appropriate, to the revision of this Regulation.
4. The Commission shall ensure that the evaluations do not include information the dissemination of which may jeopardise security operations.
5. In the mid-term evaluation and retrospective evaluation, the Commission shall pay particular attention to the evaluation of actions implemented with, in or in relation to third countries in accordance with Article 13(11) and Article 19.
Subsection 2 — Rules for shared management
Annual performance reports
1. By 15 February 2023 and by 15 February of each subsequent year up to and including 2031, Member States shall submit to the Commission an annual performance report as referred to in Article 41(7) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
The reporting period shall cover the last accounting year, as defined in point 29 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, preceding the year of submission of the report. The report submitted by 15 February 2023 shall cover the period from 1 January 2021.
2. The annual performance reports shall, in particular, set out information on:
(a)
the progress in the implementation of the Member State’s programme and in achieving the milestones and targets set out therein, taking into account the most recent data as required under Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060;
(b)
any issues affecting the performance of the Member State’s programme and the action taken to address them, including information on any reasoned opinions issued by the Commission in respect of infringement proceedings under Article 258 TFEU linked to the implementation of the Fund;
(c)
the complementarity between the actions supported under the Fund and the support provided by other Union funds, in particular those actions taken in or in relation to third countries;
(d)
the contribution of the Member State’s programme to the implementation of the relevant Union acquis and action plans;
(e)
the implementation of communication and visibility actions;
(f)
the fulfilment of the applicable enabling conditions and their application throughout the programming period, in particular compliance with fundamental rights;
(g)
the implementation of projects in or in relation to a third country.
The annual performance reports shall include a summary covering all the points set out in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The Commission shall ensure that the summaries provided by Member States are translated into all official languages of the Union and made publicly available.
3. The Commission may provide observations on annual performance reports within two months of the date of their receipt. Where the Commission does not provide observations by that deadline, the report shall be deemed to have been accepted.
4. On its website, the Commission shall provide the links to the websites referred to in Article 49(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
5. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act establishing the template for the annual performance report. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 33(2).
Monitoring and reporting under shared management
1. Monitoring and reporting in accordance with Title IV of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 shall use, as appropriate, the codes for the types of intervention set out in Annex VI to this Regulation. In order to address unforeseen or new circumstances and to ensure the effective implementation of funding, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend Annex VI.
2. The indicators set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation shall be used in accordance with Article 16(1) and Articles 22 and 42 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
