12.12.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L 327/45 COMMISSION DECISION of 6 December 2001 conferring management of aid on implementing agencies for pre-accession measures in agriculture and rural development in the Republic of Latvia in the pre-accession period (2001/885/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 of 21 June 1999 on co-ordinating aid to the applicant countries in the framework of the pre-accession strategy and amending Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (!), and in particular Article 12(2) thereof, Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2222/ 2000 () of 7 June 2000 laying down financial rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 (*) on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period, and in particular Article 3(2) thereof, Whereas: (1)  In accordance with Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural devel- opment in the Applicant Countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period, a Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development was approved by Commission Decision C(2000) 3097-final on 25 October 2000 for the Republic of Latvia. (2)  The government of the Republic of Latvia and the Commission, acting on behalf of the European Community, have signed on 25 January 2001 the Multi- annual Financing Agreement laying down the technical, legal and administrative framework for the execution of the Sapard Programme. (3)  Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 provides that the ex ante approval requirement referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 may be waived on the basis of a case-by-case analysis of national and sectorial programme/project management capacity, financial control procedures and structures regarding public finance; Regulation (EC) No 2222/2000 provides for detailed rules for the carrying out of said analysis. (4)  The Competent authority of the Republic of Latvia has appointed on the one hand, the Rural Support Service for the implementation of measures ‘Modernisation of O] L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 68. () O] L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 5. () O] L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 87. agriculture machinery, equipment and construction of buildings’; ‘Afforestation of agricultural lands’;  Improve- ment of agricultural and fisheries product processing and marketing’; ‘Development and diversification of economic activities providing for alternative income’, ‘Tmprovement of general rural infrastructure’ and Trai- ning’ as defined in the Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development that was approved by Commission Decision C(2000) 3097-final on 25 October 2000 for the Republic of Latvia and, on the other, the Ministry of Finance, National Fund, for the financial functions it is due to perform in the framework of the implementation of the Sapard programme. Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 and Regula- tion (EC) No 2222/2000, the Commission has analysed the national and sectorial programme/project manage- ment capacity, financial control procedures and struc- tures regarding public finance and has established that, for the implementation of the aforementioned measures, the Republic of Latvia complies with the provisions of Articles 4 to 6 and of the Annex to the Regulation (EC) No 2222/2000 of 7 June 2000, with the minimum conditions set out in the Annex to the Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999. In particular, the Rural Support Service has implemented the following key accreditation criteria satisfactorily: written procedures, segregation of duties, pre-project approval and pre-payment checks, payment procedures, accounting procedures, computer security, internal audit, and, where appropriate, public procurement provisions. On 16 of November 2001 the Latvian authorities provided a list of eligible expenditure in conformity with Article 4(1), section B of the Multi Annual Financial Agreement and the Commission did not raise objections to this list. The Ministry of Finance, National Fund has implemented the following criteria satisfactorily for the financial func- tions it is due to perform in the framework of the implementation of the Sapard programme for the Republic of Latvia: audit trail, treasury management, receipt of funds, disbursement to beneficiaries, computer security and internal audit.