Commission Regulation (EU) No 1249/2010 of 22 December 2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 498/2007 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 on the European Fisheries Fund

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (1), and in particular Article 102 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 70(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 provides that Member States should be responsible for preventing, detecting, correcting irregularities and recovering amounts unduly paid, notifying these to the Commission and keep the Commission informed of the progress of administrative proceedings.

(2) In the light of the experience gained by the Commission and by the Member States with regard to the application of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 of 11 July 1994 concerning irregularities and the recovery of sums wrongly paid in connection with the financing of the structural policies and the organisation of an information system in this field (2), the procedures for reporting on follow-up to irregularities should be simplified. Furthermore, in order to reduce the administrative burden imposed on Member States it is necessary to determine more precisely which information the Commission requires. To that end, information on irrecoverable amounts and on the aggregated amounts related to reported irregularities should be included in the annual statement to be submitted to the Commission pursuant to Article 46 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 498/2007 (3).

(3) The procedures for reporting on irrecoverable amounts should accurately reflect the obligations of Member States laid down in Article 70 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 and in particular the obligation to ensure an effective pursuit of recoveries. It is also appropriate to simplify the procedures whereby the Commission monitors compliance with those obligations in order to render them more efficient and cost-effective.

(4) As a consequence to Article 60 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006, it should be clearly stated that the certifying authority is responsible for keeping complete accounting records, including, in particular, references to amounts reported as irregular to the Commission in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EC) No 498/2007.

(5) In order to ensure an efficient flow of information concerning irregularities and to avoid overlaps of different contact points, it is appropriate to group the provisions on cooperation with Member States in a single Article.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 498/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the European Fisheries Fund Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 498/2007 is amended as follows:

‘4.   In the accounting records maintained in accordance with Article 60(f) of the basic Regulation, any amount related to an irregularity reported to the Commission under Article 55 shall be identified by the reference number attributed to that irregularity or by any other adequate method.’;

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2010.

For the Commission The President José Manuel BARROSO

(1) OJ L 223, 15.8.2006, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 178, 12.7.1994, p. 43.

(3) OJ L 120, 10.5.2007, p. 1.