L 315/78 Official Journal of the European Union 26.11.2013 DECISIONS COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 14 October 2013 on a Union financial contribution towards Croatia’s fisheries control programme for 2013 (notified under document C(2013) 6606) (Only the Croatian text is authentic) (2013/673/[EU) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 of 22 May 2006 establishing Community financial measures for the implementation of the common fisheries policy and in the area of the Law of the Sea ('), and in particular Article 21 thereof, Whereas: (1) (") ¢ On 1 July 2013, Croatia became a Member of the European Union. Croatia submitted to the Commission a fisheries control programme for 2013, in accordance with Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006, inclusive of its application for a Union financial contribution towards the expen- diture to be incurred in carrying out the projects contained in such programme. Applications concerning actions listed in Article 8(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 may qualify for Union funding. It is appropriate to fix the maximum amounts and the rate of the Union financial contribution within the limits set by Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 and to lay down the conditions under which such contribution may be granted. In conformity with Article 21(2) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006, Croatia was invited to submit a programme related to funding in the priority areas defined by the Commission in its letter of 25 January 2013, i.. projects aiming at the implementation of the Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 (3 on control, measurement of L 160, 14.6.2006, p. 1. L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 1. (10) O] 0] engine power, and traceability of fishery products. Requirements to be met by operators andfor Member States carrying out investments in traceability projects were defined by the Commission in its letter of 14 May 2012. On that basis and given budgetary constraints, requests in the programs for Union funding related to non- priority actions, such as installation of Automatic Identi- fication Systems (AIS) on board fishing vessels and those training projects having no link with improvements to be brought in the control systems of Member States, were rejected since they were not dedicated to the priority areas defined above. As to traceability projects, it is important to ensure that they are developed on the basis of internationally recognised standards, as required by Article 67(8) of Commission Implementing  Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 (). The Croatian application for Union funding has been assessed with regard to its compliance with the rules set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 391/2007 of 11 April 2007 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 as regards the expenditure incurred by Member States in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the Common Fisheries Policy (4. In order to encourage investment in the priority actions defined by the Commission and in view of the negative impact of the financial crisis on Member States’ budgets, expenditure related to the abovementioned priority areas and retained for this financing decision should benefit from a high co-financing rate, within the limits laid down in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006. In order to qualify for the contribution, automatic locali- sation devices should satisfy the requirements fixed by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011. L 112, 30.4.2011, p. 1. L 97, 12.4.2007, p. 30.