COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 25 May 2012
on a Union financial contribution towards Member States’ fisheries control, inspection and surveillance programmes for 2012
(notified under document C(2012) 3262)
(Only the Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish texts are authentic)
(2012/294/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 of 22 May 2006 establishing Community financial measures for the implementation of the common fisheries policy and in the area of the Law of the Sea (1), and in particular Article 21 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Member States have submitted to the Commission their fisheries control programme for 2012, in accordance with Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006, inclusive of the applications for a Union financial contribution towards the expenditure to be incurred in carrying out the projects contained in such programme.
(2)
Applications concerning actions listed in Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 may qualify for Union funding.
(3)
The applications for Union funding have been assessed with regard to their compliance with the rules set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 391/2007 (2).
(4)
It is appropriate to fix the maximum amounts and the rate of the Union financial contribution within the limits set by Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 and to lay down the conditions under which such contribution may be granted.
(5)
In conformity with Article 21(2) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006, Member States have been asked to submit programs related to funding in the priority areas defined by the Commission in its letter of 14 October 2011, i.e. traceability, validation and cross-checking of data, measurement of engine power, equipment of small scale fleet with Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and Electronic Recording and Reporting Systems (ERS).
(6)
On that basis and given budgetary constraints, requests in the programs for Union funding related to non-priority actions such as installation of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) on board fishing vessels, training and initiatives raising awareness of CFP rules as well as the purchase or modernisation of fisheries patrol vessels and aircraft were rejected.
(7)
In order to encourage investment in the priority actions defined by the Commission and in view of the negative impact of the financial crisis on Member States’ budgets, expenditure related to the abovementioned priority areas and retained for this financing decision should benefit from a high co-financing rate, within the limits laid down in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006.
(8)
Within the priority areas defined by the Commission, it appeared that projects on traceability that were presented by Member States required a global and coordinated approach among Member States to be put in place before a Union contribution could be granted. The assessment of these traceability projects for a Union contribution was consequently postponed to an additional financing decision to be prepared in 2012.
(9)
In order to qualify for the contribution, automatic localisation devices should satisfy the requirements fixed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 of 8 April 2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (3)
(10)
In order to qualify for the contribution, electronic recording and reporting devices on board fishing vessels should satisfy the requirements fixed by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011.
(11)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Subject matter
This Decision provides for a Union financial contribution for 2012 towards expenditure incurred by Member States for 2012 in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the common fisheries policy (CFP), as referred to in Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006.
Article 2
Closure of outstanding commitments
All payments in respect of which a reimbursement is claimed shall be made by the Member State concerned by 30 June 2016. Payments made by a Member State after that deadline shall not be eligible for reimbursement. The budgetary appropriations related to this Decision shall be decommitted at the latest by 31 December 2017.
Article 3
New technologies & IT networks
1. Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex I, on the setting up of new technologies and IT networks in order to allow efficient and secure collection and management of data in connection with monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities as well as on the verification of engine power, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
2. Any other expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex I, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
Article 4
Automatic localisation devices
1. Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex II, on the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of automatic localisation devices enabling vessels to be monitored at a distance by a fisheries monitoring centre through a vessel monitoring system (VMS) shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits established in that Annex.
2. The financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated on the basis of a price capped at EUR 2 500 per vessel.
3. In order to qualify for the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, automatic localisation devices shall satisfy the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003.
Article 5
Electronic recording and reporting systems
Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex III, on the development, purchase, and installation of, as well as technical assistance for, the components necessary for electronic recording and reporting systems (ERS), in order to allow efficient and secure data exchange related to monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
Article 6
Electronic recording and reporting devices
1. Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex IV, on the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of ERS devices enabling vessels to record and report electronically to a Fisheries Monitoring Centre data on fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits established in that Annex.
2. The financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated on the basis of a price capped at EUR 3 000 per vessel, without prejudice of paragraph 4.
3. In order to qualify for a financial contribution, ERS devices shall satisfy the requirements established in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011.
4. In case of devices combining ERS and VMS functions, and fulfilling the requirements laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011, the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be calculated on the basis of a price capped at EUR 4 500 per vessel.
Article 7
Pilot projects
Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex V, on pilot projects on new control technologies shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
Article 8
Addresses
1. This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, Romania, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
2. The planned expenditure, the eligible share thereof, and the maximum Union contribution per Member State are as follows:
(in EUR)
Member State
Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme
Expenditure for projects selected under this Decision
Maximum Union contribution
Belgium
610 000
410 000
345 000
Bulgaria
25 565
25 565
23 009
Denmark
3 462 722
2 656 563
2 350 599
Germany
5 971 900
181 000
162 900
Ireland
52 370 000
270 000
163 000
Greece
12 110 000
6 040 000
5 400 000
Spain
207 080
84 200
75 780
France
3 550 955
2 152 500
1 937 250
Italy
5 877 000
4 412 000
3 846 000
Cyprus
65 000
65 000
38 500
Latvia
17 856
17 856
13 400
Lithuania
284 939
284 939
256 445
Malta
117 000
104 500
94 050
Netherlands
1 709 400
1 580 000
1 422 000
Poland
2 674 000
0
0
Portugal
3 379 192
539 979
485 981
Romania
615 000
430 000
367 000
Slovenia
204 800
185 800
145 700
Finland
2 500 000
1 987 500
1 584 750
Sweden
11 463 574
242 177
195 782
United Kingdom
10 017 803
4 424 309
3 705 547
Total
117 233 786
26 093 889
22 612 693
Done at Brussels, 25 May 2012.