Local action groups
Article 34
1. Local action groups shall design and implement the community-led local development strategies. Member States shall define the respective roles of the local action group and the authorities responsible for the implementation of the relevant programmes, concerning all implementation tasks relating to the community-led local development strategy. 2. The managing authority or authorities responsible shall ensure that the local action groups either select one partner within the group as a lead partner in administrative and financial matters, or come together in a legally constituted common structure. 3. The tasks of local action groups shall include the following: (a) building the capacity of local actors to develop and implement operations including fostering their project management capabilities; (b) drawing up a non-discriminatory and transparent selection procedure and objective criteria for the selection of operations, which avoid conflicts of interest, ensure that at least 50 % of the votes in selection decisions are cast by partners which are not public authorities, and allow selection by written procedure; (c) ensuring coherence with the community-led local development strategy when selecting operations, by prioritising those operations according to their contribution to meeting that strategy's objectives and targets; (d) preparing and publishing calls for proposals or an ongoing project submission procedure, including defining selection criteria; (e) receiving and assessing applications for support; (f) selecting operations and fixing the amount of support and, where relevant, presenting the proposals to the body responsible for final verification of eligibility before approval; (g) monitoring the implementation of the community-led local development strategy and the operations supported and carrying out specific evaluation activities linked to that strategy. 4. Without prejudice to point (b) of paragraph 3, the local action group may be a beneficiary and implement operations in accordance with the community-led local development strategy. 5. In the case of cooperation activities of local action groups as referred to in point (c) of Article 35(1), the tasks set out in point (f) of paragraph 3 of this Article may be carried out by the managing authority responsible.