3.2.2015 Official Journal of the European Union L27/7 COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2015/ 160 of 28 November 2014 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, securities and use of euro THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (!), and in particular Articles 40 and 53(3) thereof, Whereas: (1)  Article 5 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 (%) lays down the conditions under which, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, expenditure effected after the payment deadlines is considered eligible for Union payments. (2)  For reasons of legal certainty and clarity, it is necessary to add to the provisions already laid down in Article 5 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 the conditions which should apply to direct payments made in financial year 2015 as provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (). For that purpose, it is necessary to refer in particular to the appropriate ceilings fixed for Member States in respect of calendar year 2014 in Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, distinguishing between those Member States which apply the Single Payment Scheme and those which apply the Single Area Payment Scheme. Moreover to address the specific situation with regard to the application of financial discipline, reference should be made to the provisions of Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 as regards the payments in respect of calendar year 2013 and to the provisions of Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 as regards the payments in respect of calendar year 2014. (3) It is necessary to clarify paragraph 8 of Article 12 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 as its wording could inadvertently lead the Commission to apply a level of flat rate correction which is lower than the risk to the Union budget. Paragraph 8 of Article 12 of that Regulation should therefore be reworded so as to indicate clearly that, where objective elements demonstrate that the maximum loss for the funds is lower than the loss which would derive from the application of a flat rate lower than that proposed by the Commission, the Commission is to apply that lower flat rate in deciding on the amounts to be excluded from Union financing. (4)  Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 is amended as follows: (1) In Article 5, the following paragraph 3a is added: ‘3a. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, during financial year 2015, in the case of direct payments listed in Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, the following conditions shall apply: (@) where the threshold referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 has not been used in full for payments made in respect of calendar year 2014 no later than 15 October 2015 and the remainder of the threshold exceeds 2 %, that remainder shall be reduced to 2 %; () OJL347,20.12.2013, p. 549. (*) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 of 11 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, securities and use of euro (O] L 255, 28.8.2014, p. 18). (®) Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247[2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (OJ L 30, 31.1.2009, p. 16).