98/78/EC: Commission Decision of 18 December 1997 on the approval of the single programming document for Community structural assistance in the region of Friuli- Venezia Giulia concerned by objective 2 in Italy (Only the Italian text is authentic)
20. 1. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 14/19 COMMISSION DECISION of 18 December 1997 on the approval of the single programming document for Community structural assistance in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia concerned by objective 2 in Italy (Only the Italian text is authentic) (98/78/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for imple- menting Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards co- ordination of activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the Euro- pean Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3193/94 (2), and in particular Article 10(1) last subpara- graph thereof, After consultation of Development Committee pursuant to Article 124 of the Treaty, the Advisory Committee on the and the and Conversion of Regions as last Whereas the programming procedure for structural assist- ance under objective 2 is defined in Article 9(6) to (10) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effect- iveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instru- ments (3), amended by Regulation (EC) No 3193/94; whereas however the last subparagraph of Article 5(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 foresees that in order to simplify and to speed up programming proced- ures, Member States may submit in a single programming document the information required for the regional and social conversion plan referred to in Article 9(8) of Regu- lation (EEC) No 2052/88 and the information required at Article 14(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88; whereas the last subparagraph of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 foresees that in that case the Commission adopts a single decision in a single document covering the points referred to in Article 8(3) and the assistance from the Funds referred to in the last subparagraph of Article 14(3); Whereas the Commission has established, by Decision 96/472/EC (4), areas concerned by objective 2 for the programming period from 1997 to 1999; list of declining industrial the (1) OJ L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 1. (2) OJ L 337, 24. 12. 1994, p. 11. (3) OJ L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 9. (4) OJ L 193, 3. 8. 1996, p. 54. Whereas the global maximum allocation foreseen for the assistance of the Structural Funds for the present single programming document is composed of resources coming from the indicative allocation of Structural Fund commit- ment appropriations for the period 1997 to 1999 under objective from Commission Decision 96/468/EC (5) and from unused appropriations of ECU 10,242 million of the corresponding single programming document covering the period 1994 to 1996, pursuant to Commission Decision C (96) 4171/2 of 18 December 1996; resulting 2 Whereas the Italian Government has submitted to the Commission on 8 August 1996 the single programming document as referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 for the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia; whereas this document contains the elements referred to in Article 9(8) of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 and in Article 14(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88; whereas expenditure under this single programming document is eligible as from that date; Whereas the single programming document submitted by this Member State includes a description of the conver- sion priorities selected and the applications for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) as well as an indica- tion of the planned use of the assistance available from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the other finan- cial instruments in implementing the single program- ming document; Whereas, in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88, the Commission is charged with en- the partnership, co- suring, within the framework of ordination and consistency between assistance from the Funds and assistance provided by the EIB and the other financial instruments; Whereas the EIB has been involved in the drawing up of the single programming document in accordance with the provisions of Article 8(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88, applicable by analogy in the establishment of it has the single programming document; whereas (5) OJ L 192, 2. 8. 1996, p. 29. L 14/20 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 1. 98 declared itself prepared to contribute to the implementa- tion of this document in conformity with its statutory provisions; whereas, however, it has not yet been possible to evaluate precisely the amounts of Community loans corresponding to the financial needs; the Community Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1866/90 of 2 July 1990 on arrangements for using the ecu for the purpose of the budgetary management of the Structural Funds (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2745/94 (2), stipu- lates that in the Commission decisions approving a single programming document, assistance available for the entire period and the annual breakdown thereof shall be set out in ecus at prices for the year in which each decision is taken and shall be subject to this annual breakdown must be indexation; whereas compatible with the progressive increase in the commit- ment appropriations shown in Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88; whereas indexation is based on a single rate per year, corresponding to the rates applied annually to budget appropriations on the basis of the mechanism for the technical adjustment of the financial perspectives; Whereas Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4254/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Regional Development Fund (3), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2083/93 (4), defines the measures for which the ERDF may provide financial support; Whereas Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4255/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Social Fund (5), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2084/93 (6), defines the measures for which the ESF may provide financial support; Whereas the single programming document has been State established in agreement with the Member concerned through the partnership defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88; Whereas the single programming document satisfies the conditions and includes the information required by Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88; and so should be implemented by means of an integrated approach involving finance from more than one Fund; the Financial Regulation of 21 Whereas Article 1 of December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2335/95 (8), states that the legal commitments entered into for measures extending over more than one financial year must contain a time limit for implementation which must be specified to the re- cipient in due form when the aid is granted; subject Whereas Article 20(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 provides, for a single commitment where the Community assistance granted is less than ECU 40 million for the whole programmation period; to available funding, Whereas it is appropriate to mention that this Decision is ruled by the provisions on the eligibility of expenditure laid down in the Annex to Commission Decision C (97) 1035/6 of 23 April 1997 modifying the decisions approv- ing the Community support the single programming documents and the Community initiatives programmes in respect of Italy; frameworks, Whereas all the other conditions laid down for the grant of aid from the ERDF and the ESF have been complied with, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The single programming document for Community struc- tural assistance in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia concerned by objective 2 in Italy, covering the period 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1999, is hereby approved. Article 2 The single programming document includes the follow- ing essential elements: (a) a statement of the main priorities for joint action, their specific quantified objectives, an appraisal of their expected impact and their consistency with economic, social and regional policies of Italy; Whereas the present assistance satisfies the conditions laid down in Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88, the main priorities are: (1) OJ L 170, 3. 7. 1990, p. 36. (2) OJ L 290, 11. 11. 1994, p. 4. (3) OJ L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 15. (4) OJ L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 34. (5) OJ L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 21. (6) OJ L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 39. 1. creation and development of business, 2. transfer of innovation, (7) OJ L 356, 31. 12. 1977, p. 1. (8) OJ L 240, 7. 10. 1995, p. 12. 20. 1. 98 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities L 14/21 3. regeneration and upgrading of the territory, 4. strengthening of human resources, 5. technical assistance; various priorities and measures, is set out in the financing plan and the detailed implementing provisions which form an integral part of the single programming docu- ment. (b) the assistance from the Structural Funds as referred to in Article 4; (c) the detailed provisions for implementing the single programming document comprising: — the procedures for monitoring and evaluation, — the provisions on financial implementation, — the rules for compliance with Community policies; (d) the procedures for verifying additionality and an initial evaluation of the latter; (e) the arrangements for associating the environmental the single authorities with the implementation of programming document; (f) the means available for technical assistance necessary for the preparation, implementation or adaptation of the measures concerned. Article 3 1. For the purpose of indexation, the annual break- down of the global maximal allocation foreseen for the assistance from the Structural Funds is as follows: million ECU (1997 prices) 1997 1998 1999 Total 9,280 9,659 10,061 29,000 2. To this global maximum allocation is added an amount of ECU 10,242 million not subject to indexation, resulting from unused appropriations of the correspond- ing single programming document covering the period 1994 to 1996. The national financial contribution envisaged, which is approximately ECU 67,792 million for the public sector and ECU 1,377 million for the private sector, may be met in part by Community loans, in particular from the EIB. Article 5 The breakdown among the Structural Funds of the 1. total Community assistance available is as follows: — ERDF: — ESF: ECU 28,032 million ECU 11,210 million The budgetary commitments at 2. the moment of approval of the single programming document refer to the total Community assistance. Payments subsequent to the first advance provided 3. for in Article 21(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 shall be subject to confirmation by the Commission of the respect of the principle of additonality on the basis of the relevant information supplied by the Member State. Article 6 The breakdown among the Structural Funds and the procedure for the grant of the assistance may be altered subsequently, subject to the availability of funds and the budgetary rules, in the light of adjustments decided ac- cording to the procedure laid down in Article 25(5) of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88. Article 4 Article 7 The assistance from the Structural Funds granted to the single programming document amounts to a maximum of ECU 39,242 million. The procedure for granting the financial assistance, in- cluding the financial contribution from the Funds to the The Community aid concerns expenditure on operations under the single programming document which, in the legally Member State concerned, are the subject of binding commitments and for which the requisite finance has been specifically allocated no later than 31 December 1999. The final date for taking account of expenditure on these measures is 31 December 2001. L 14/22 ‹ EN ‹ Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 1. 98 Article 8 Article 10 The single programming document shall be implemented in accordance with Community law, and in particular the Treaty and the Articles 6, 30, 48, 52 and 59 of Community directives on the coordination of procedures for the award of contracts. Article 9 This Decision is ruled by the provisions laid down in the Annex to Decision C (97) 1035/6. This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic. Done at Brussels, 18 December 1997. For the Commission Monika WULF-MATHIES Member of the Commission