(1)

Article 56 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (3) provides that rules on eligibility of expenditure are to be established at national level, with certain exceptions laid down for the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund (ESF).

(2)

Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) establishes which expenditure is eligible for a contribution from the ESF as defined in Article 11(1) of that Regulation.

(3)

The financial crisis justifies the need for further simplifications to facilitate access to grants co-financed by the ESF.

(4)

The European Court of Auditors recommended in its 2007 annual report that the legislative authorities and the Commission be prepared to reconsider the design of future expenditure programmes by giving due consideration to simplifying the basis of calculation of eligible cost and making greater use of lump-sum or flat-rate payments instead of reimbursement of ‘real costs’.

(5)

In order to ensure the necessary simplification in the management, administration and control of operations receiving an ESF grant, particularly when linked to a result-based reimbursement system, it is appropriate to add two additional forms of eligible costs, namely, lump sums and flat-rate standard scales of unit cost.

(6)

In order to ensure legal certainty in relation to the eligibility of expenditure, this simplification should be applicable to all grants from the ESF. Retroactive application should therefore be necessary with effect from 1 August 2006, which is the date of entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006.

(7)

Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

1.

point (b) shall be replaced by the following:

2.

the following subparagraphs shall be added:

‘The options referred to in points (i), (ii) and (iii) of point (b) may be combined only where each of them covers a different category of eligible costs or where they are used for different projects within the same operation.

Costs referred to in points (i), (ii) and (iii) of point (b) shall be established in advance on the basis of a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation.

The lump sum referred to in point (iii) of point (b) shall not exceed EUR 50 000.’.

(1)

With a view to enhancing Europe’s longer-term sustainable growth potential, the Commission adopted, on 26 November 2008, a Communication on a European Economic Recovery Plan which considers the importance of undertaking investments improving energy efficiency of the buildings, including the housing sector.

(2)

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports interventions in the housing sector, including energy efficiency, only in favour of Member States that acceded to the European Union on or after 1 May 2004, where the conditions set out in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) are met. Such support for energy efficiency and renewable energy investment in the housing sector should be made available for all Member States.

(3)

Support should be provided to those investments which take place in the framework of public schemes in line with the objectives of the Directive 2006/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services (4).

(4)

In order to ensure that the objectives of the cohesion policy as set out in Article 158 of the Treaty are met, interventions should support social cohesion.

(5)

The European Court of Auditors recommended in its 2007 annual report that the legislative authorities and the Commission be prepared to reconsider the design of future expenditure programmes by giving due consideration to simplifying the basis of calculation of eligible costs and making greater use of lump-sum or flat-rate payments instead of reimbursement of ‘real costs’.

(6)

In order to ensure the necessary simplification in the management, administration and control of operations that receive an ERDF grant, particularly when linked to a result-based reimbursement system, it is appropriate to add three additional forms of eligible costs, namely, indirect costs, lump sums and flat-rate standard scales of unit cost.

(7)

In order to ensure legal certainty in relation to the eligibility of expenditure, these additional forms of eligible costs should be applicable to all grants from the ERDF. Retroactive application should therefore be necessary with effect from 1 August 2006, which is the date of entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006.

(8)

Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

1.

the following paragraph shall be inserted:

2.

the introductory phrase of paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following:

3.

the following paragraph shall be added:

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (3) provides that certain measures are to be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (4).

(2)

Decision 1999/468/EC has been amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (5), which introduced the regulatory procedure with scrutiny for the adoption of measures of general scope designed to amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty, inter alia by deleting some of those elements or by supplementing the instrument with new non-essential elements.

(3)

In accordance with the statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (6) concerning Decision 2006/512/EC, for the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to be applicable to instruments adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty which are already in force, those instruments must be adjusted in accordance with the applicable procedures.

(4)

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to adopt certain measures regulating trade in species of wild fauna and flora, to adopt certain amendments to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and to adopt additional measures to implement resolutions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Convention’), decisions or recommendations of the Standing Committee of the Convention and recommendations of the Convention Secretariat. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, inter alia by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(5)

On grounds of efficiency, the normal time-limits for the regulatory procedure with scrutiny should be curtailed for the adoption of measures amending the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 338/97, in order to comply with the deadline for entry into force of amendments to the Appendices to the Convention.

(6)

Regulation (EC) No 338/97 should therefore be amended accordingly,

1.

Article 4 shall be amended as follows:

2.

Article 5 shall be amended as follows:

3.

Article 7 shall be amended as follows:

4.

in Article 8, paragraph 4 shall be replaced by the following:

5.

in Article 9, paragraph 6 shall be replaced by the following:

6.

in Article 11, paragraph 5 shall be replaced by the following:

7.

in Article 12, paragraph 4 shall be replaced by the following:

8.

Article 15 shall be amended as follows:

9.

Article 18 shall be amended as follows:

10.

Article 19 shall be replaced by the following:

11.

in Article 21(3), the introductory sentence shall be replaced by the following:

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/98 (3) provides that certain measures are to be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (4).

(2)

Decision 1999/468/EC was amended by Council Decision 2006/512/EC (5), which introduced the regulatory procedure with scrutiny for the adoption of measures of general scope and designed to amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty.

(3)

In accordance with the statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (6) concerning Decision 2006/512/EC, for the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to be applicable to instruments adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty which are already in force, those instruments must be adjusted in accordance with the applicable procedures.

(4)

As regards Regulation (EC) No 1172/98, the Commission should be empowered to adapt the data collection characteristics and the contents of the Annexes and to lay down the minimum precision requirements for the statistical returns transmitted by the Member States and the implementing procedures for that Regulation, including measures for adapting it to economic and technical progress. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of that Regulation they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1172/98 should therefore be amended accordingly,

1.

Article 3(4) shall be replaced by the following:

2.

Article 4 shall be replaced by the following:

3.

Article 5(2) shall be replaced by the following:

4.

Article 6 shall be replaced by the following:

5.

Article 9 shall be deleted;

6.

Article 10 shall be replaced by the following:

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 (2) provides that certain measures are to be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (3).

(2)

Decision 1999/468/EC has been amended by Council Decision 2006/512/EC (4), which introduced the regulatory procedure with scrutiny for the adoption of measures of general scope and designed to amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty, inter alia, by deleting some of those elements or by supplementing the instrument with new non-essential elements.

(3)

In accordance with the statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (5) concerning Decision 2006/512/EC, for the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to be applicable to instruments adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty which are already in force, those instruments must be adjusted in accordance with the applicable procedures.

(4)

As regards Regulation (EC) No 2223/96, the Commission should be empowered to adopt amendments to the European System of Accounts 1995 methodology and to decide on changes in the data requested from Member States. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96, inter alia, by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 should therefore be amended accordingly,

1.

in Article 2, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

2.

in Article 3(2), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘Within the limits set in Article 2(2), any changes — new tables, countries and/or regions concerned — in the data requested from the Member States shall be adopted by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 4(2).’;

3.

Article 4 is replaced by the following:

(1)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network (3) has been substantially amended several times (4). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation should be codified.

(2)

The Treaty provides for the development and implementation of a Community policy on the environment, and lays down the objectives and principles which should govern such policy.

(3)

Environmental protection requirements are to be a component of the Community’s other policies.

(4)

According to Article 174 of the Treaty, in preparing its action relating to the environment the Community is to take account, inter alia, of the available scientific and technical data.

(5)

Collection, processing and analysis of environmental data at European level are necessary in order to provide objective, reliable and comparable information which will enable the Community and the Member States to take the requisite measures to protect the environment, to assess the results of such measures and to ensure that the public is properly informed about the state of the environment.

(6)

There already exist in the Community and the Member States facilities providing such information and services.

(7)

They should form the basis for the European Environment Information and Observation Network to be coordinated at Community level by the European Environment Agency.

(8)

The general principles and limits governing the exercise of the right of access to documents, provided for in Article 255 of the Treaty, have been laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (5).

(9)

The Agency should cooperate with existing structures at Community level to enable the Commission to ensure full application of Community legislation on the environment.

(10)

The status and structure of the Agency should correspond to the objective character of the results it is intended to produce and allow it to carry out its functions in close cooperation with the existing national and international facilities.

(11)

The Agency should be granted legal autonomy while maintaining close links with the Community institutions and the Member States.

(12)

It is desirable to provide for the Agency to be open to other countries which share the concern of the Community and the Member States for the objectives of the Agency under agreements to be concluded between them and the Community,

(a)

to establish, in cooperation with the Member States, and coordinate the Network referred to in Article 4; in this context, the Agency shall be responsible for the collection, processing and analysis of data, in particular in the fields referred to in Article 3;

(b)

to provide the Community and the Member States with the objective information necessary for framing and implementing sound and effective environmental policies; to that end, in particular to provide the Commission with the information that it needs to be able to carry out successfully its tasks of identifying, preparing and evaluating measures and legislation in the field of the environment;

(c)

to assist the monitoring of environmental measures through appropriate support for reporting requirements (including through involvement in the development of questionnaires, the processing of reports from Member States and the distribution of results), in accordance with its multiannual work programme and with the aim of coordinating reporting;

(d)

to advise individual Member States, upon their request and where this is consistent with the Agency’s annual work programme, on the development, establishment and expansion of their systems for the monitoring of environmental measures, provided such activities do not endanger the fulfilment of the other tasks established by this Article; such advice may also include peer reviews by experts at the specific request of Member States;

(e)

to record, collate and assess data on the state of the environment, to draw up expert reports on the quality, sensitivity and pressures on the environment within the territory of the Community, to provide uniform assessment criteria for environmental data to be applied in all Member States, to develop further and maintain a reference centre of information on the environment; the Commission shall use this information in its task of ensuring the implementation of Community legislation on the environment;

(f)

to help ensure that environmental data at European level are comparable and, if necessary, to encourage by appropriate means improved harmonisation of methods of measurement;

(g)

to promote the incorporation of European environmental information into international environment monitoring programmes such as those established by the United Nations and its specialised agencies;

(h)

to publish a report on the state of, trends in and prospects for the environment every five years, supplemented by indicator reports focusing upon specific issues;

(i)

to stimulate the development and application of environmental forecasting techniques so that adequate preventive measures can be taken in good time;

(j)

to stimulate the development of methods of assessing the cost of damage to the environment and the costs of environmental preventive, protection and restoration policies;

(k)

to stimulate the exchange of information on the best technologies available for preventing or reducing damage to the environment;

(l)

to cooperate with the bodies and programmes referred to in Article 15;

(m)

to ensure the broad dissemination of reliable and comparable environmental information, in particular on the state of the environment, to the general public and, to this end, to promote the use of new telematics technology for this purpose;

(n)

to support the Commission in the process of exchange of information on the development of environmental assessment methodologies and best practice;

(o)

to assist the Commission in the diffusion of information on the results of relevant environmental research and in a form which can best assist policy development.