Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/568 of 29 January 2016 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the conditions and procedures to determine whether amounts which are irrecoverable shall be reimbursed by Member States concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/568of 29 January 2016supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the conditions and procedures to determine whether amounts which are irrecoverable shall be reimbursed by Member States concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Maritime and Fisheries FundTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320. and in particular the fifth subparagraph of Article 122(2) thereof,Whereas:(1)In accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 122(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, when an amount unduly paid to a beneficiary cannot be recovered and this is as a result of fault or negligence on the part of a Member State, the Member State is responsible for reimbursing the amount concerned to the budget of the Union.(2)The document on irrecoverable amounts submitted by the certifying authority to the Commission, as part of the annual accounts in accordance with Article 137(1)(b) and Article 138(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 each year from 2016 until and including 2025, establishes the irrecoverable amounts at the level of each priority. That document should also include explicit information regarding the amounts that should not, according to the Member State, be reimbursed to the Union budget, in particular by demonstrating the administrative and legal measures taken by the Member State to effectively pursue the recovery of the irrecoverable amounts. However, as that document refers to amounts previously included in certified accounts submitted to the Commission, it should be submitted for the first time in 2017.(3)In accordance with point (b) of Article 126 and with Article 137(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, deductions made before submission of certified accounts cannot be considered as recoveries if they relate to the expenditure included in the final interim payment application of a given accounting year for which the accounts are prepared. It should therefore be clarified that the information on irrecoverable amounts submitted under this Delegated Regulation should only concern amounts already included in certified accounts previously submitted to the Commission.(4)To allow the Commission to decide whether the irrecoverable amounts should be reimbursed to the Union budget, the Member State should submit the required information, at the level of each operation and beneficiary, before the deadline set for the submission of accounts in Article 59(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1).. In accordance with that provision, it should be possible to extend also the deadline for the document on irrecoverable amounts.(5)It is necessary to establish criteria that will enable the Commission to assess whether a Member State has been at fault or negligent in the recovery during the administrative and legal measures. The presence of one or more of these criteria should not automatically mean that the Member State has in fact been at fault or negligent.(6)For reasons of legal certainty, the Commission should conclude its assessment by a given deadline, and Member States should react to the Commission's assessment by another given deadline. For the same reasons, the Commission should be able to conclude its assessment even where the Member State does not provide additional information. However, in the cases preceding a bankruptcy or of suspected fraud, as referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 122(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the deadlines should not apply.(7)Pursuant to the second sentence of the fourth subparagraph of Article 122(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, a Member State may decide not to recover from a beneficiary an amount unduly paid at the level of an operation in the accounting year concerned that does not exceed EUR 250, not including interest, in contribution from the Funds. In this case, the amount does not need to be reimbursed to the budget of the Union. No information will be requested on such de minimis amounts.(8)With regard to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal subject to Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on specific provisions for the support from the European Regional Development Fund to the European territorial cooperation goal (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 259)., that Regulation does not establish a different system with regard to amounts referred to in the second sentence of the fourth subparagraph of Article 122(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. It is therefore for the Member States and third countries participating in a given European territorial cooperation programme to decide that neither the lead beneficiary nor the programme's managing authority is obliged to recover an amount unduly paid that does not exceed EUR 250, not including interest, in contribution from the Funds,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: