Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 652/2008 of 9 July 2008 amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities
Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 652/2008of 9 July 2008amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European CommunitiesTHE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European CommunitiesOJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1525/2007 (OJ L 343, 27.12.2007, p. 9)., and in particular Article 185(1) thereof,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,Having regard to the opinion of the Council,Having regard to the opinion of the Court of AuditorsOJ C 23, 28.1.2008, p. 1.,Whereas:(1)Following the amendment of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (hereinafter: "general Financial Regulation") by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1., it is necessary to adapt Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. in order to align it with the general Financial Regulation. Some amendments have become necessary in the light of experience gathered by the existing Community bodies.(2)As regards the difference of the deadline for the discharge decisions concerning the Community bodies and that provided for the general budget in the general Financial Regulation, this Regulation has to follow the deadline set in the basic acts establishing the Community bodies, from which it cannot deviate. The institution concerned and, where appropriate, the Community bodies should therefore try to avoid difficulties in practice and strive for a harmonisation of these basic acts in the future.(3)It should be made clear that sound financial management requires effective and efficient internal control. The main features and objectives of internal control systems should be defined.(4)Accrued transparency vis-à-vis the budgetary authority should be ensured through new information requirements incumbent on the Community bodies in the budget procedure particularly as regards estimations of the number of contract staff, surpluses, assigned revenue and waivers to recovery of established amounts receivable.(5)In order to ensure that personal data is kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data were collected or for which they are further processed, specific requirements should be laid down as regards supporting documents.(6)In order to strengthen the protection of the financial interests of the Communities, each Community body should establish a list of amounts receivable, stating the names of the debtors and the amount of the debt where the debtor has been ordered to pay by a Court decision that has the force of res judicata and where no or no significant payment has been made for one year after its pronouncement. This list should be published, taking into account the legislation applicable to data protection.(7)In order to ensure the transparency of the use of funds deriving from their budgets, it is appropriate to provide for a general obligation of the Community bodies to make available information on the beneficiaries of those funds.(8)The list of assigned items of revenue proved to be incomplete and should therefore be completed in accordance with Article 18(1) of the general Financial Regulation.(9)The publication of the budget of Community bodies should be simplified, while preserving the prerogatives of the budgetary authority and of the Court of Auditors.(10)The procedure regarding transfers to be adopted by the directors of Community bodies has been applied inconsistently and should therefore be clarified. In particular, the budgetary authority should be kept informed of important transfers.(11)Payment requests to the Commission should be substantiated and based on rigorous cash management in order to avoid surpluses at the end of the year.(12)The effects of part-time work on the establishment plan should be specified to facilitate its use especially in small Community bodies.(13)In order to strengthen the protection of the financial interest of the Communities, Community bodies should participate in fraud prevention activities of the European Anti-fraud Office.(14)In order to cover all persons involved in procurement and grant procedures, it is appropriate to provide for particulars regarding conflict of interest situations.(15)Treatment of similar individual transactions relating to certain routine expenditure items should be simplified with regard to ex ante verification obligations.(16)Financial liability of authorising officers should be expressively limited to cases of gross negligence and intentional misconduct.(17)In order to facilitate transactions in certain cases, Community bodies should be enabled to use a direct debit system.(18)Given that the director of the Community body, who is authorising officer, is the hierarchical superior of the accounting officer, the functional independence of the accounting officer in the performance of his duties should be explicitly referred to.(19)Accounting officers’ responsibility for certifying the accounts on the basis of the financial information supplied to them by authorising officers should be clarified. To this end, the accounting officer should be empowered to check the information received from the authorising officer by delegation and to enter reservations, if necessary.(20)It is necessary to define a set of rules for fees and charges collected by the Community bodies in order to meet the needs of certain Community bodies financed from such revenue.(21)Community bodies should be able to draw on the expertise of the specialised Financial Irregularities Panel of the Commission established pursuant to Article 66(4) of the general Financial Regulation, which should become, by default, competent for Community bodies unless the latter decide to set up a panel or to participate in a joint panel established by several Community bodies.(22)The conditions for the use, by Community bodies, of Commission services and offices, interinstitutional European offices and the Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 of 28 November 1994 setting up a Translation Centre for bodies of the European UnionOJ L 314, 7.12.1994, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1645/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 13). and joint procurement procedures with host Member States should be specified in order to reinforce interinstitutional cooperation and cooperation between Community bodies and with host Member States.(23)In order to strengthen the protection of the financial interests of the Communities and given that Community bodies cannot exercise certain prerogatives exclusively assigned to the Community institutions, they should be required to insert specific contractual clauses in their contracts and grant agreements concluded with third parties enabling them to exercise certain rights, including the suspension and termination of contracts and tender procedures and the establishment of a limitation period.(24)For reasons of transparency vis-à-vis the budgetary authority, an information procedure for projects with significant impact on the administrative budget of the Community body should be introduced.(25)It is necessary to provide for a specific procedure for the selection of experts, corresponding to that laid down in the general Financial Regulation.(26)Communication and cooperation between the director of the Community body and the management board in the framework of the discharge procedure should be enhanced.(27)In line with Article 185(1) of the general Financial Regulation, it should be provided that where the Community body will adopt rules to implement its financial regulation, the adoption of these rules is subject to the prior agreement of the Commission.(28)Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 should therefore be amended accordingly,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: