Article 79
In accordance with the principle of sound financial management referred to in Article 11 and acting within its powers, the Commission shall endeavour to ensure that: (a) the legal commitments implementing the financing agreements referred to in Article 78(1) are concluded no later than three years following the date of conclusion of the corresponding financing agreement. Individual contracts and agreements relating to audit and evaluation, and riders to contracts already concluded, may be concluded later; (b) the amount of an individual financing commitment corresponding to a legal commitment implementing a financing agreement referred to in Article 78(1) and for which no payment has been made in a period of three years following the signing of the legal commitment shall be decommitted. At the end of any deadline fixed in the financing agreements for conclusion of the legal commitments referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, the authorising officer responsible shall decommit the unused balance of the corresponding financial commitments. Legal commitments as referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall be contracts, grant agreements or programme estimates concluded by the ACP State or OCTs or its authorities or contracts and grant agreements concluded by the Commission acting in their name and on their behalf. For the purposes of application of this subparagraph, the Commission shall, in agreement with the beneficiary ACP States and OCTs, incorporate relevant provisions in the financing agreements referred to in Article 78(1).