91 Amendments of Luke Ming FLANAGAN related to 2016/0282(COD)
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point n
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point n
(n) "young farmer" means a person who is no more than 40 years of age at the moment of submitting the application, possesses adequate occupational skills and competence and is setting up for the first time in an agricultural holding as head of that holding; setting up may be done solely or jointly with other farmers, as a derogation to this and in duly justified circumstances member states may apply the provisions of this article to young farmers who are no more than 40 years of age at the moment of submitting their application, that possesses adequate occupational skills and competence, even though they are already farming on their own right in an agricultural holding as head of that holding, if they have not been in receipt of specific support for young farmers in the 2006-2013 CAP reform or in the current CAP program 2013-2020, the support should continue for a maximum of five years;
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point r
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point r
(r) "forest" means an area of land spanning more than 0,5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ; and does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use, subject to paragraph 2;is defined in Article 3.1(f) of the LULUCF Regulation COM(2016) 479 final
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. Support under this measure may also cover costs arising from information and promotion activities implemented by groupproducer groups or associations of producer groups, concerning products covered by a quality scheme receiving support in accordance with paragraph 1. By way of derogation from Article 70(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, these activities may only be implemented in the internal market.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) concern the processing, marketing and/or development of agricultural products covered by Annex I to the TFEU or cotton, except fishery products; the output of the production process may be a product not covered by that Annex; where support is provided in the form of financial instruments, the input may also be a product not covered by Annex I to the TFEU on condition that the investment contributes to one or more of the Union priorities for rural development;
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 19 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Support under point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be conditional on the submission of a business plan. Implementation of the business plan shall start at the latest within nineeighteen months from the date of the decision granting the aid. The business plan shall have a maximum duration of five years.
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 19 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 5
Article 19 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 5
Member States shall define upper and lower thresholds per beneficiary for allowing access to support under points (a)(i) and (a)(iii) of paragraph 1. The lower threshold for support under point (a)(i) of paragraph 1 shall be higher than the upperequal to the threshold for support under point (a)(iii) of paragraph 1. Support shall be limited to holdings coming under the definition of micro and small enterprises. and shall be capped at an appropriate level to be set by the Member state;
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point c
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point c
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 19 – paragraph 5
Article 19 – paragraph 5
5. Support under point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be paid in at least two instalments. Instalments may be degressive. The payment of the last instalment under points (a)(i) and (a)(ii) of paragraph 1 shall be conditional upon the correct implementation of the business plan.; and shall be paid, in any event, within one year following the full implementation of the business plan;
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 19 – paragraph 4a
Article 19 – paragraph 4a
4a. By way of derogation from Article 37(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, support under point (a)(i) of paragraph 1 may also be provided in the form of financial instruments, or as a combination of grants and financialas a combination of grants and financial instruments with grants remaining the dominant support instruments.;
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 20 – paragraph 4
Article 20 – paragraph 4
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 7 – point b
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 7 – point b
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 36 – paragraph 3
Article 36 – paragraph 3
3. For the purpose of points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 1, 'mutual fund' means a scheme accredited by the Member State in accordance with its national law for affiliated farmers to insure themselves, whereby compensation payments are made to affiliated farmers for economic losses caused by the outbreak of adverse climatic events or an animal or plant disease or pest infestation or an environmental incident, or for a severe drop in their income. as a result of political decisions over which they have control;
Amendment 209 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 45 – paragraph 1
Article 45 – paragraph 1
1. Support under point (d) of Article 36(1) shall only be granted in duly justified cases and where the drop of income exceeds 20 % of the average annual income of the individual farmer in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period excluding the highest and lowest entry. Income for the purposes of point (d) of Article 36(1) shall refer to the sum of revenues the farmer receives from the market, including any form of public support, deducting input, overhead and labor costs. Payments by the mutual fund to farmers shall compensate for less than 70 % of the income lost in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance.
Amendment 214 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Since fFollowing three years of implementation, further amendments are to be made to the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union in order to remove bottlenecks in implementation by increasing flexibility, to simplify delivery for the stakeholders and the services and to focus more on results, Regulation (EU, Euratom) no 966/201214 of the European Parliament and of the Council should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation. _________________ 14 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1).
Amendment 214 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 11 – point a
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 11 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 45 – paragraph 5
Article 45 – paragraph 5
5. Working capital that is ancillary to, and linked to a new investment, which receives EAFRD support through a financial instrument established in accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, may be eligible expenditure. Such eligible expenditure shall not exceed 350 % of the total amount of the eligible expenditure for the investment. The relevant request shall be duly substantiated.
Amendment 216 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 11 – point b
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 11 – point b
Regulation (EU) N°1305/2013
Article 45 – paragraph 7
Article 45 – paragraph 7
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 14 – point a
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 14 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 60 – paragraph 1
Article 60 – paragraph 1
1. By way of derogation from Article 65(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, in cases of emergency measures due to natural disasters, catastrophic events or adverse climatic events or a significant and sudden change in the socio-economic conditions of the Member State or region, including significant and sudden demographic changes resulting from migration or reception of refugees, the rural development programmes may provide that eligibility of expenditure relating to programme changes may start from the date when the event occurred.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The principle of transparency, is enshrined in Article 15 TFEU which; this requires the institutions to work as openly as possible, implies and, in the area of the implementation of the budget, implies that citizens are able to know where, and for what purpose, funds are spent by the Union. Such information fosters democratic debate, contributes to the participation of citizens in the Union's decision-making process and reinforces institutional control and scrutiny over Union expenditure. Such objectives should be achieved by the publication, (preferably using modern communication tools,) of relevant information concerning all recipients of Union funds, which takes into account such allthose same recipients' legitimate interests of confidentiality and security and, as far as natural persons are concerned, their right to privacy and the protection of their personal data. Institutions should therefore adopt a selective approach in the publication of information, in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Decisions to publish should be based on relevant criteria in order to provide meaningful information.
Amendment 230 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 14 – point b
Article 267 – paragraph 1 – point 14 – point b
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
Article 60 – paragraph 2
Article 60 – paragraph 2
With the exception of general costs as defined in Article 45(2)(c), in respect of investment operations under measures falling within the scope of Article 42 TFEU, only expenditure which has been incurred after an application has been submitted to the competent authority shall be considered eligible. However, Member States may provide in their programme that expenditure which is related to emergency measures due to natural disasters, catastrophic events or adverse climatic events or a significant and sudden change in the socio-economic conditions of the Member State or region, including significant and sudden demographic changes resulting from migration or reception of refugees, and which has been incurred by the beneficiary after the event occurs, is also eligible
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The name and locality of the recipients of Union funds should be published fFor prizes, grants and contracts awarded following the opening-up of a public procedure to competition, as it is the casend in particular for contests, for a call for proposals and/or a call for tenders, in theto respect of the principles of the TFEU and in particular the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non- discrimination. Moreover s, the name and locality of the recipients of Union funds should be published. Such publication should contribute to the control of the public selection procedures by the rejectedunsuccessful applicants ofin the competition.
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) Information on scholarships, and other direct support paid to natural persons in most need, should remain exempt from publication.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In order to ensure the respect of the principle of equal treatment between recipients, the publication of information related to natural persons should also be ensured in line with the obligation for the Member States to establish a large transparency of the contracts above the amount laid down in Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts.
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In the case of indirect and shared implementation, it should be forthe responsibility of the persons, entities or designated bodies implementing Union funds to make available information on recipients and final recipients. Where applicable, the level of detail and criteria should be defined in the relevant sector- specific rules and may be further defined in the financial framework partnership agreements. The Commission should make available a reference of the website where the information on recipients and final recipients can be found.
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) For reasons of legal certainty, it is necessary to clarify that the directors of executive agencies act as authorising officers by delegation when managing operational appropriations of programmes delegated to their agency. To achieve the full effect of efficiency gains resulting from a global centralisation of certain support services, the possibility for executive agencies to implement administrative expenditures should be explicitly mentioned.
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Consequently, the tasks, responsibilities and principles of the procedures to be observed should also be laid down. It is also necessary to provide that the authorising officers by delegation shall ensure that the authorising officers by subdelegation and their staff receive information concerning the control standards and respective methods and techniques, and that measures are taken in order to ensure the functioning of the control system which should replace the obligation to establish specific code of professional standards applicable to financial verifications only. The responsibilities assumed are accounted for in an annual report to the institution and the report shall include the required financial and management information to support the authorising officer by delegation’s declaration of assurance on the performance of his or her duties, including the information on the overall performance of the operations carried out. The supporting documents relating to the operations carried out should be kept. Finally, all the various forms of negotiated procedure for the award of public contracts should, since those contracts represent derogations from the usual award procedures, be the subject of a special report to the institution and of a communication to the European Parliament and Council, since those contracts represent derogations from the usual award procedures.
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) The double role of the Head of Union delegation, (and of their deputies in their absence,) as authorising officer by subdelegation 1) for the European External Action Service (hereinafter ‘EEAS’) and, (as regards operational appropriations,) 2) for the Commission, should be taken into account.
Amendment 240 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) The accounting officer continues to be responsible for the proper execution of payments, the collection of revenue and the recovery of amounts receivable. He/She manages the treasury, bank accounts and third -party files, keeps the accounts and is responsible for drawing up the institution's financial statements. The accounting officer of the Commission is the only person who is entitled to define the accounting rules and harmonised charts of accounts, while accounting officers of all other Union institutions define accounting procedures applicable in their institutions.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) The conditions for the use of imprest accounts, a system of management which constitutes an exception to normal budgetary procedures, should also be laid down, and the tasks and responsibilities of the imprest administrators, as well as those of the authorising officer and accounting officer in connection with the control of imprest accounts, should be set out. The European Parliament and Council should be informed of any appointment or termination of duties. For reasons of efficiency, imprest accounts should be set up in Union delegations, for appropriations from both the Commission and EEAS sections of the budget. It is also appropriate to allow under specific conditions for the use of imprest accounts in the Union delegation for payments of limited amounts by budgetary procedures, under specific conditions. As regards the appointment of imprest administrators, it has proven necessary to choose them also from personnel employed by the Commission in the field of crisis management aid and humanitarian aid operations whenever there is no Commission statutory staff available.
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) Once the tasks and responsibilities of each financial actor have been defined, they may be held liable only under the conditions laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union. The sSpecialised financial irregularities panels have been set up in the Union institutions,; however, due to the limited number of cases submitted to them and for reasons of efficiency, it is appropriate to transfer their functions to the newly established inter- institutional panel which has been set up to assess requests and issue recommendations on the imposition onf administrative sanctions (exclusion and financial penalty) referred to it by the Commission or other Union institutions and Union bodies. This transfer also aims at avoiding duplication and at mitigating the risks of contradictory recommendations or opinions, in cases where both an economic operator and an EU staff member are involved. The procedure should be maintained by which an authorising officer may seek confirmation of an instruction which that officer considers to be irregular or contrary to the principle of sound financial management, and thus be released from any liability. The composition of this panel should be modified when it fulfils this role.
Amendment 243 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48
Recital 48
(48) In order to secure the management of assets whilst also yielding financial remuneration, it is necessary to have the amounts provisionally cashed, (such as competitions fines which are being contested), invested in financial assets, and to determine the assignment of the return on them. Since the Commission is not the only institution which is entitled to impose fines or other penalties, it is necessary to set provisions concerning such fines or other penalties imposed by other institutions and to set rules for their recovery which should be equivalent to those for the fines or penalties imposed by the Commission.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52
Recital 52
(52) In order to make better use of the appropriations available for the implementation of external actions, the time limit during which individual legal commitments may be made on the basis of global budgetary commitment should be removed, as well as the obligation to conclude a contribution agreement until 31 December of year n+1 in cases where a financing agreement with the third country presents the global budgetary commitment covering also the contribution agreement.
Amendment 246 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 53
Recital 53
(53) As regards the typology of payments which may be made by authorising officers, clarification of the various types of payments should be provided, in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, be provided. The rules for clearing of pre-financing payments should further be clarified, in particular for situations where no interim clearing is possible. To this effect, appropriate provisions should be included in legal commitments signed.
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) This Regulation should stipulate that the payments must be made within a specified time limit, and that in the event of failure to respect this time limit, creditors will be entitled to default interests to be charged to the budget, with the exception of Member States and also, as newly introduced, also the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) It is considered appropriate to integrate the provisions concerning validation and authorisation of expenditure in one article and to introduce a definition of de-commitments. Since the transactions are carried out in computerised systems, the concept of "signing a 'passed for payment' voucher" has been replaced by "electronically secured signature" except in a limited number of cases. It is also necessary to clarify that the validation of expenditure applies to all eligible costs, i.e. also suchncluding those which are not associated with a request for payment, this being the case for the clearing of pre-financing.
Amendment 250 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 56
Recital 56
(56) In order to reduce complexity, streamline existing rules and improve the readability of this Regulation, rules common to more than one budget implementation instruments should be established. For those reasons certain provisions should be regrouped, the wording and scope of other provisions should be aligned and unnecessary repetitions and cross referencing should be removed.
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 268 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 268 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013
Article 54 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 54 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 63
Recital 63
(63) This Regulation should establish standard periods for which documents relating to Union contributions should be kept by recipients so as to avoid divergent or disproportionate contractual requirements, while still providing the Commission, the European Anti-fraud office and the Court of Auditors with sufficient time to obtain access to such data and documents and perform the ex post checks and audits. In addition, participants and recipients should be obliged to cooperate in the protection of the Union's financial interest.
Amendment 258 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 64
Recital 64
(64) In order to provide adequate information to participants and recipients and to ensure that they have the possibility to exercise their right of defence, this Regulation should allow participants and recipients to submit their observations before adoption of any measure adversely affecting their rights and to be informed on the means of redress they dispose of for challenging such a measure.
Amendment 259 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 66
Recital 66
(66) The early detection and exclusion sytem should apply to: * participants,; * recipients,; * entities on whose capacity the candidate or tenderer intends to rely or to; * subcontractors of a contractor,; * any person or entity receiving Union funds where the budget is implemented under indirect implementation,; * any person or entity receiving Union funds under financial instruments directly implemented and ; *participants or recipients of entities implementing the budget under shared implementation.
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 68
Recital 68
(68) The decision to a) exclude a person or entity from participation in award procedures or the imposition of a financial penalty and b) the decision to publish the related information, should be taken by the authorising officer responsible, in light of their autonomy in administrative matters. In the absence of a final judgment or final administrative decision and in cases related to a serious breach of contract, the authorising officers responsible should take their decision having regard to the recommendation of the panel on the basis of a preliminary classification in law.. The panel should also assess the duration of an exclusion in cases where the duration has not been set by the final judgment or the final administrative decision.
Amendment 261 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 70
Recital 70
(70) The preliminary classification in law does not prejudge the final assessment of the conduct of the person or entity concerned by the competent authorities of Member States under national law of the conduct of the person or of the entity concerned. The recommendation of the panel, as well as the decision of the authorising officer responsible, should therefore be reviewed following the notification of such a final assessment.
Amendment 263 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 71
Recital 71
(71) A person or entity should be excluded by the authorising officer responsible when a final judgment or a final administrative decision has been taken in the case of any of the following: * grave professional misconduct, and/or of non-compliance, (whether intentional or not,) with the obligations related to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes,; * fraud affecting the budget ,; * corruption,; * participation in a criminal organiszation,; * money laundering,; * terrorist financing,; * terrorist -related offences,; * child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings or any such irregularity. It should also be excluded in the case of a serious breach of a legal commitment or bankruptcy.
Amendment 266 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 72
Recital 72
(72) When deciding on the exclusion of a person or entity, or the imposition of a financial penalty on a person or entity, and on the publication thereof or on the rejection of person or entity, the authorising officer responsible should ensure compliance with the principle of proportionality by taking into particular account the seriousness of the situation, its budgetary impact, the time which has elapsed since the relevant conduct, its duration and its recurrence, the intention or degree of negligence and the degree of collaboration of the person or entity with the relevant competent authority and its contribution to the investigation.
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 74
Recital 74
(74) A person or entity should not be subject to a decision of exclusion when it has taken remedial measures, thus demonstrating its reliability. That possibility should not apply in the case of the most severe criminal activities involving an amount greater than EUR 5000.
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 75
Recital 75
(75) In light of the principle of proportionality, cases where a) a financial penalty may be imposed as an alternative to the exclusion and b) cases where the gravity of the conduct of the recipient concerned in respect of attempting to unduly obtain Union funds justifies the imposition of a financial penalty in addition to the exclusion so as to ensure a deterrent effect, should be distinguished. The minimum and maximum financial penalty which can be imposed by the contracting authority should also be defined.
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 77
Recital 77
(77) The possibility to apply administrative and/or financial penalties on a regulatory basis is independent from the possibility to apply contractual penalties, such as liquidated damages, and should be noted.
Amendment 270 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 80
Recital 80
(80) It is important to be able to reinforce the deterrent effect achieved by the exclusion and the financial penalty. In that regard, the deterrent effect should be reinforced by the possibility tof publishing the information related to the exclusion and/or to the financial penalty, with full respect for the data protection requirements set out in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) and in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (7). This should contribute to ensuring that the same conduct is not repeated. For reasons of legal certainty and in accordance with the principle of proportionality, it should be specified in which situations a publication should not take place. In its assessment, the authorising officer responsible should have regard to any recommendation of the panel. As far as natural persons are concerned, personal data should only be published in exceptional cases justified by the seriousness of the conduct or its impact on the Union's financial interests.
Amendment 271 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 84
Recital 84
(84) While the setting up and the operation of the early detection and exclusion system should be the responsibility of the Commission, other institutions and bodies, (as well as all entities implementing the budget under direct, shared and indirect implementation) should also participate in that system by transmitting relevant information to the Commission. The authorising officer responsible and the panel should guarantee the right of defence of economic operators. The same right should be given to a person ofr entity, in the context of an early detection, where an act envisaged by an authorising officer could adversely affect the rights of the person ofr entity concerned. In cases of fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the Union's financial interests which are not yet subject to a final judgment, the authorising officer responsible and the panel should be given the possibility to defer the opportunity given to the person ofr entity to submit its observations. Such deferral should only be justified where there are compelling legitimate grounds to preserve the confidentiality of the investigation.
Amendment 272 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 87
Recital 87
(87) This Regulation should foster the objective of e-Government, and in particular the use of electronic data in the exchange of information between the institutions and third parties, in particular the use of electronic data.
Amendment 273 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 89
Recital 89
(89) Rules on the composition and tasks of the committee in charge of assessing application documents in procurement, grant award procedures and in contests for prizes should be laid down. The committee may be composed of external experts, if provided sofor in the basic act.
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 90
Recital 90
(90) In line with the principle of good administration, the authorising officer should request clarifications or missing documents, while respecting the principle of equality of treatment and without substantially changing the application documents. The authorising officer may decide not to do so only in duly justified cases. In addition, the authorising officer should be able to correct an obvious clerical error or request the participant to correct it.
Amendment 275 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 91
Recital 91
(91) Sound financial management should require that the Commission protects itself by requesting guarantees at the time of paying pre-financing. The requirement for contractors and beneficiaries to lodge guarantees should not be automatic, but should be based on a risk analysis. Where, during the course of implementation, the authorising officer discovers that a guarantor is no longer authorised to issue guarantees in accordance with the applicable national law, the authorising officer should be able to require replacement of the guarantee.
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 93
Recital 93
(93) The provisions on the ex-ante pillar assessment should be revised to enable the Commission to rely as much as possible on the systems and procedures of the partners which have been deemed equivalent to the ones used by the Commission. In addition, it is important to clarify that where the assessment reveals areas where the procedures in place are not sufficient to protect the financial interests of the Union, the Commission may sign contribution agreements while imposing additional supervisory measures. It is also important to clarify the areas where the Commission does not require a pillar assessment in order to sign contribution agreements.
Amendment 277 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 94
Recital 94
(94) It is appropriate to indicate that the remuneration of the Organisations implementing the EU budget should, where relevant and possible, have a performance- based nature.
Amendment 280 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 103
Recital 103
(103) The contribution of contracting authorities to the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development, while ensuring that they can obtain the best value for money for their contracts, in particular through requiring specific labels or through the use of appropriate award methods, should be clarified.
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 104
Recital 104
(104) In order to ensure that, when executing contracts, economic operators comply with the applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations established by Union law, national law, collective agreements or the applicable international social and environmental conventions listed in Annex X to Directive 2014/24/EU, such obligations should be part of the minimum requirements defined by the contracting authority and should be integrated in the contracts signed by the contracting authority.
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 269 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 269 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013
Article 9 – paragraph 7
Article 9 – paragraph 7
Amendment 284 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 125
Recital 125
(125) In order to simplify procedures and improve the readability of this Regulation, provisions related to the content of the grant application, of the call for proposals and of the grant agreement should be simplified and streamlined.
Amendment 285 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 127
Recital 127
(127) Experience gained in the use of lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing has shown that, such forms of financing significantly simplified administrative procedures and substantially reduced the risk of error substantially. Lump sums, flat rates and unit costs are a suitable form of financing independently of the area of Union intervention and in particular for standardised and recurrent actions, e.g. mobility, institutional twinning, training activities, etc. In this context, the conditions for using lump sums, unit costs and flat rates should be made more flexible. It is necessary to provide explicitely for the establishment of single lump sums covering the entire eligible costs of the action or the work programme. In addition, in order to foster focus on results, priority should be given to output- based funding. Input bаsed lump sums, unit costs and flat rates should remain an option where output based ones are not possible or appropriate.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 130
Recital 130
(130) The scope of checks and controls as opposed to the periodic assessment of lump sums, unit costs or flat rates should be clarified. Those checks and controls should focus on the fulfilment of the conditions triggering the payment of lump sums, unit costs or flat-rates, including, where required, the achievement of outputs. Those conditions should not require reporting on the costs actually incurred by the beneficiary. Where the amounts of lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing have been decided ex ante by the authorising officer responsible or by the Commission, they should not be challenged by ex post controls. The periodic assessment of lump sums, unit costs or flat rates may require access to the accounts of the beneficiary for statistical and methodological purposes. The periodic assessment may lead to updates of the lump sums, unit costs or flat rates applicable to future agreements but should not be used for questioning the value of the lump sums, unit costs or flat rates already agreed upon. Access to the beneficiary's accounts is also necessary for fraud- prevention and detection purposes.
Amendment 288 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 131
Recital 131
(131) In an environment of limited availability of resources and in order to facilitate the participation of small organisations in the implementation of the EU policies in an environment of limited availability of resources, it is necessary to recognise the value of the work provided by volunteers as eligible costs. As a result, such organisations in providing co-financing may rely to a greater extent on volunteers' work for sake of providing co-financing to the action. Without prejudice to the maximum co-financing rate specified in the basic act, in such cases, the Union grant needs to be limited to the estimated eligible costs other than those covering volunteers' work. As volunteers work is a work provided by third parties without a remuneration being paid to them by the beneficiary, the limitation avoids reimbursing costs which the beneficiary did not incur.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 269 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 269 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013
Article 9 – paragraph 8
Article 9 – paragraph 8
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 140
Recital 140
(140) The instruments that potentially fall under Title X, such as loans, guarantees, equity investments, quasi-equity investment and risk-sharing instruments, should be defined. The definition of risk- sharing instruments should allow for the inclusion of credit enhancements for project bonds, covering the debt service risk of a project and mitigating the credit risk of bond holders through credit enhancements in the form of a loan or a guarantee.
Amendment 298 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 145
Recital 145
(145) In addition, the implementation of financial instruments and budgetary guarantees should comply with the Union's tax policy objectives and achievements regarding tax avoidance, in particular aggressive tax planning and tax good governance. In that respect, attention should be given to the Commission Recommendation on aggressive tax planning (C(2012)8806), the Commission Recommendation regarding measures to encourage third countries to apply minimum standards of good tax governance in tax matters (C(2012)8805), the Commission Communication on an Anti-Tax Avoidance Package: Next steps towards delivering effective taxation and greater tax transparency in the EU (COM(2016)23), including in particular the Commission Communication on an External Strategy for Effective Taxation (COM(2016)24), and related developments at Union level.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 158
Recital 158
(158) Although financial support is awarded without an annual work programme being required, European political parties should justify ex post the sound use of Union funding. In particular, the authorising officer responsible should verify if the funding has been used to pay reimbursable expenditure as established in the call for contributions within the time limits laid down in this Regulation. Contributions to European political parties should be spent by the end of the financial year following that of their award, after which, any unspent funding should be recovered by the authorising officer responsible.
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 165
Recital 165
(165) In line with the streamlining of the existing rules and in order to avoid undue repetition, the Part tTwo of the Financial Regulation, dedicated to special provisions applicable to the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund, to Research, to external action and to specific EU funds, should be removed. The provisions of this Part tTwo should be either introduced in the relevant parts of the Financial Regulation, or, in caswhere the provisions are not used or no longer relevant, simply deleted.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 170
Recital 170
(170) In order to ensure that the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) provides swiftly adequate resources to support changing political priorities, the indicative shares for each of the three axies and the minimum percentages for each of the thematic priorities within the individual axis should allow for a greater flexibility. This should improve the management of the Programme and allow focussing budgetary resources on actions producing better employment and social results.
Amendment 325 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 173
Recital 173
(173) As the amendment of provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council19 provides more favourable conditions for certain revenue generating operations for which amounts or rates of support are defined in Annex II to EMFF Regulation, it is necessary to establish a different date of entry into force for these provisions to ensure equal treatment of operations supported on the basis of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. _________________ 19 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347 20.12.2013, p. 320)
Amendment 326 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 176
Recital 176
(176) In view of maximising the synergies between all Union funds to address the challenges of migration and asylum in an effective way, it should be ensured that, when the thematic objectives are translated into priorities in the Fund- specific rules, such priorities cover the appropriate use of each Fund for these areas.
Amendment 331 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 179
Recital 179
(179) In order to facilitate the preparation and implementation of community-led local development strategies, the lead fund should be allowed to cover preparatory, running and animation costs.
Amendment 332 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 180
Recital 180
(180) In order to facilitate the implementation of community-led local development and integrated territorial investments, the roles and responsibilities of local action groups in the case of community-led local development strategies and local authorities the roles and responsibilities of local action groups, regional development bodies or non-governmental organisations in the case of ITIs in relation to other programme bodies, should be clarified. Designation as an intermediate body should only be required only in cases where the relevant bodies carry out tasks which go beyond those described in the relevant Article or where it is required by the Fund specific rules.
Amendment 337 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 192
Recital 192
(192) With a view to facilitate the implementation of revenue generating operations, reduction of the co-financing rate should be allowed at any time of the programme implementation and possibilities for the establishment of flat- rate net revenue percentages at national level should be provided.
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 197
Recital 197
(197) In view of the aim to reduce the addministrative burden of the implementation of projects by beneficiairies, a new form of simplified costs options for financing based on conditions others than costs of operations should be introduced.
Amendment 340 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 202
Recital 202
(202) With a view to improving the effectiveness and impact of operations, implementation of nation-wide operations or operations covering different programme areas should be facilitated and possibilities for expenditure outside the Union for certain investments should be increased .
Amendment 341 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 204
Recital 204
(204) In order to promote the use of joint action plans which will reduce administrative burden for beneficiaries, it is necessary to reduce regulatory requirements linked to the setting up of a joint action plan.
Amendment 342 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 206
Recital 206
(206) With a view to reducing the administrative burden and ensuring the effective use of technical assistance across Funds and categories of regions, flexibility for the calculation and monitoring of the respective limits applicable to technical assistance of Member States should be increased
Amendment 343 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 208
Recital 208
(208) The responsibilities of the managing authorities regarding the verification of expenditure when simplified cost options are being used, should be specified more in detail.
Amendment 344 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 211
Recital 211
(211) With a view to facilitateing certain target groups' access to the ESF, the collection of data for certain indicators should be based on representative samples and twice in the programming period.
Amendment 345 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 214
Recital 214
(214) Nowadays farmers are exposed to increasing economic risks as a consequence of market developments. However, those economic risks do not affect all agricultural sectors equally. Consequently, and provided that the international obligations of the Union are respected, Member States should have the possibility, in duly justified cases, to help farmers with sector- specific income stabilisation tools, in particular for sectors affected by a severe income drops, which would have a significant economic impact for a specific rural area, provided that the international obligations of the Union are respected. In addition, in order to monitor the expenditure made in relation to this new tool, the content of the financial plan of the programme should be adapted. Moreover, the specific reporting requirement for the risk management measure in 2018 referred to in Article 36(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is already covered by the report to the European Parliament and the Council on the monitoring and evaluation of the CAP referred to in Article 110(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013. Therefore the second subparagraph of Article 36(5) should be deleted.
Amendment 346 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 216
Recital 216
(216) Support for investments for the restoration of production potential after natural disasters and catastrophic events under Articles 18(1)(b) and 24(1)(d) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is usually granted to all eligible applicants. Therefore, Member States should not be obliged to define selection criteria for restoration operations. Moreover, in duly justified cases, where it is not possible to define selection criteria due to the nature of the operations, Members States should be allowed to define alternative selection methods.
Amendment 347 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 217
Recital 217
(217) Article 59 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 defines the maximum EAFRD contribution rates. In order to ease the pressure on the national budget of some Member States and to accelerate much- needed investments in countries and regions where it is most needed (such as Cyprus), the maximum contribution rate of 100% referred to in Article 59(4)(f) should be extended until the programme closure. In addition, a reference to the specific contribution rate introduced in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 for the new financial instrument referred to in point (c) of Article 38(1) of the same Regulation should be mentioned in Article 59(4).
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 218
Recital 218
(218) Pursuant to Article 60(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, in cases of emergency measures due to natural disasters, eligibility of expenditure relating to programme changes may start from the date when the natural disaster occurred. This possibility to makenable eligibleility for expenditure madeincurred before the submission of a programme amendment should be extended to other circumstances, such as catastrophic events or a significant and sudden change in the socio-economic conditions of the Member State or region, including sudden and significant demographic changes resulting from migration or reception of refugees.
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 219
Recital 219
(219) According to the second subparagraph of Article 60(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, in respect of investments in the agricultural sector, only expenditure incurred after the submission of an application is eligible. Members States should be given the possibility to provide in their programmes that, where the investment is related to emergency measures due to natural disasters, catastrophic events or adverse climatic events or a significant and sudden change in the socio-economic conditions of the Member State or region, expenditure incurred after the occurrence of the event is eligible, even where this is before the submission of an application.
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 269 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 269 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013
Article 50 – paragraph 9
Article 50 – paragraph 9
4. in Article 50, paragraph 9 is deleted;Member States shall set a single maximum limit applicable to the number of payment entitlements activated by the farmer or to the number of eligible hectares declared by the farmer. That limit shall not be below 25 or above 90. Member States shall respect that limit when applying paragraphs 6, 7 and 8.
Amendment 350 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 225
Recital 225
(225) Experience has shown that the rule, first introduced with Regulation (EU) No 1290/2005, of equally sharing between the budget and the Member States the risk of the lack of recovery of sums due for irregularities when these sums had not been recovered within reasonable deadlines (so called 50/50 rule), has worked well for the safeguarding of the budget. However, such a system entails a heavy administrative and book-keeping burden for both the European Commission and the Member States. It is therefore considered appropriate to further change this approach and charge the related sums entirely to the Member States concerned after the expiry of the related deadlines, while allowing them, on the other side, to keep in their national budgets the sums subsequently recovered at the end of the related recovery procedures.
Amendment 351 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 227
Recital 227
(227) The experience gained so far shows that through implementing the three criteria for being regarded an active farmer, listed in the third subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council22 , has proven difficult for many Member States. In order to reduce the administrative burden associated with the implementation of the three criteria, Member States should have the possibility of making available only one or two of them. The experience further shows that in some Member States the administrative costs of implementing the active farmer clause as a whole outweighs the benefit of excluding a very limited number of non- active beneficiaries from the direct support schemes. In order to allow Member States to address such situations in future claim years, the application of Article 9 as a whole should become optional for them. _________________ 22 Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347 20.12.2013, p. 608)
Amendment 352 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 230
Recital 230
(230) Pursuant to Article 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, Member States may grant, under certain conditions, grant coupled support to farmers in specific agricultural sectors or types of farming, to the extent necessary to create an incentive to maintain current levels of production in the sectors or regions concerned. In order to avoid that the levels of production are to be maintained where this is not appropriate due to structural market imbalances, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts allowing that voluntary coupled support can continue to be paid until 2020 on the basis of the production units for which such support was granted in a past reference period. In the context of the current crisis this temporary derogation aims at attaining in the long term the objective of voluntary coupled support of maintaining the level of production in the areas concerned.
Amendment 353 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 232
Recital 232
(232) In addition to withdrawals for free distribution, it is also appropriate to grant coaching actions intended to encourage producers to set up organisations meeting the criteria to be recogniszed afor full Union financing within the operational programmes of existing producer organisations.
Amendment 354 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 233
Recital 233
(233) Crisis prevention and management measures should be extended to cover refilling of mutual funds which could act as new instruments to help to combat crises.
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 236
Recital 236
(236) In order to simplify the current procedure of first, authorising Member States to grant additional national financial assistance to producer organisations in regions of the Union where the organisation degree is particularly low and second, reimbursing a part of the national financial assistance if further conditions are complied with, a new system could be established. Member States where the organisation rate is particularly low was (below 20% at national level in 2013) could grant an additional percentage of the value of the marketed production as national aid with a result similar to the current scheme of prior authorisation and subsequent Union reimbursement. The Commision should regularly review the list of Member States that may grant additional national assistance to keep it updated.
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 242
Recital 242
(242) Only grants and procurement may currently be used to support actions in the area of Digital Service Infrastructures. In order to ensure that they are as efficient as possible, financial instruments should also be made available to support these actions.
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 246
Recital 246
(246) In order to avoid unfair treatment of partner organisations, irregularities that are imputable only to the body in charge of purchasing the assistance, should not affect the eligibility of expenditure of partner organisations.
Amendment 362 #
(250) Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council25 provides for the possibility to divide budgetary commitments into annual instalments only in the case of approval of multiannual programmes for the eradication, control and surveillance of animal diseases and zoonoses, for survey programmes concerning the presence of pests and for programmes concerning the control of pests in outermost regions of the Union. In the interest of simplification and in order to reduce the administrative burden, this possibility should be extended to the other actions provided for in Regulation (EU) No 652/2014. _________________ 25 Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material, amending Council Directives 98/56/EC, 2000/29/EC and 2008/90/EC, Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 882/2004 and (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decisions 66/399/EEC, 76/894/EEC and 2009/470/EC (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 1).