The North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999

• The Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland establishing Implementation Bodies done at Dublin on 8 March 1999 (hereinafter referred to as “the Implementation Bodies Agreement”); and

• The Supplementary Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland constituted by the exchange of letters dated 18 June 1999; and

• The Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland constituted by the exchange of notes dated 19 November 2002.

I have the honour to refer also to recent discussions between our two Governments concerning the interpretation of the terms “Community Initiatives”, “Initiatives” and “Cls” in Part 4 of Annex 1 and Part 4 of Annex 2 to the Implementation Bodies Agreement.

It is the understanding of my Government that it was the joint intention of our two Governments that the aforementioned terms would include any successors to, equivalents of or substitutes for such Initiatives within or building on the substantive objectives, priorities, policy areas and activities covered by the Community Initiatives established within the framework of the European Community’s Structural Funds and should be construed accordingly.

If this is also the understanding of your Government, I have the honour to propose that this letter and your reply in the affirmative shall constitute an Agreement between our two Governments concerning the interpretation of these terms which shall enter into force on the date of your reply.

Rt Hon Peter Hain MP

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

25 July 2006

Rt Hon Peter Hain MP

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I have the honour to refer to your letter of 25 July 2006 concerning the interpretation of certain terms contained in the Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland establishing Implementation Bodies done at Dublin on 8 March 1999.

I have the honour to confirm that it is the understanding of my Government that it was the joint intention of our two Governments for the terms as specified in your letter to include any successors to, equivalents of or substitutes for such Initiatives within or building on the substantive objectives, priorities, policy areas and activities covered by the Community Initiatives established within the framework of the European Community’s Structural Funds and should be construed accordingly.

I have the honour to confirm, therefore, that this letter and your letter shall constitute an Agreement between our two Governments which will come into force today.

Mr Dermot Ahern TD

Minister for Foreign Affairs

Implementation of PEACE PLUS

14A

• (1) This article applies during the period beginning with the day on which the Financing Agreement enters into force and ending with 1st July 2032.

• (2) The Body has—

• (a) the functions of the managing authority, and

• (b) the accounting function.

• (3) When exercising the functions referred to in paragraph (2), the Body must comply with—

• (a) the EU instruments listed in Part 1 of Schedule 4A (basic acts) including as amended or replaced from time to time, to the extent they are relevant to the programme,

• (b) the EU instruments listed in Part 2 of Schedule 4A (relevant delegated and implementing acts),

• (c) any EU instrument which enters into force after the making of the PEACE PLUS Programme (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023 and which supplements or implements an EU instrument listed in Part 1 of Schedule 4A, to the extent that instrument is relevant to the programme, and

• (d) the terms of the Financing Agreement, including as amended from time to time.

• (4) Before entering into a grant agreement with a beneficiary, the Body must ensure the terms of that agreement—

• (a) require the beneficiary to comply with the requirements of Article 6.3(2) of the Financing Agreement (which relate to visibility, communication and transparency activities),

• (b) meet the requirements of Article 11.3 of the Financing Agreement (which relate to certain intellectual property rights), and

• (c) meet the requirements of Article 11.4 of the Financing Agreement (which relate to the retention and availability of documents).

• (5) In this article—

• “accounting function” has the meaning given by Article 76 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (“Regulation (EU) 2021/1060”);

• “beneficiary” has the meaning given by Article 2(9) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060;

• “Financing Agreement” means the Financing Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ireland and the European Commission on the PEACE PLUS Programme 2021-2027, done in Brussels on the 13th and 15th March 2023;

• “functions of the managing authority” mean those functions conferred on the managing authority by—the EU instruments listed in Part 1 of Schedule 4A, including as amended or replaced from time to time, andthe Financing Agreement, including as amended from time to time;

• “grant agreement” means a document setting out the conditions for support in accordance with Article 22(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments (“Regulation (EU) 2021/1059”);

• “programme” means the Interreg cross-border cooperation programme PEACE PLUS for the programming period 2021 to 2027, as approved by Commission Implementing Decision C(2022) 4931 of 8 July 2022, including as amended from time to time in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1059.

Grants to the body

Annual report and accounts

SCHEDULE 4A — EU instruments relevant to the implementation of PEACE PLUS

PART 1 — Basic acts

1

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012⁸.

2

Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund⁹.

3

Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments.

4

Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy.

PART 2 — Delegated and implementing acts

5

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 240/2014 of 7 January 2014 on the European code of conduct on partnership in the framework of the European Structural and Investment Funds¹⁰.

6

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1131 of 5 July 2021 setting out the annual breakdown by Member State of global resources for the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus and the Cohesion Fund under the Investment for jobs and growth goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, the annual breakdown by Member State per category of region, the annual breakdown by Member State allocated to additional funding for outermost regions, the amounts to be transferred from each Member State’s Cohesion Fund allocation to the Connecting Europe Facility, the annual breakdown of global resources for the European Urban Initiative, the annual breakdown of global resources for transnational cooperation supporting innovative solutions, the annual breakdown of global resources for the Interregional Innovation Investments, the annual breakdown of global resources for the cross-border cooperation strand of the European territorial cooperation goal, the annual breakdown by Member State of global resources for the transnational cooperation strand of the European territorial cooperation goal, the annual breakdown of global resources for the interregional cooperation strand of the European territorial cooperation goal and the annual breakdown of global resources for the outermost regions cooperation strand of the European territorial cooperation goal for the period 2021-2027¹¹.

7

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/74 of 17 January 2022 setting out the list of Interreg programmes and indicating the global amount of the total support from the European Regional Development Fund and from each external financing instrument of the Union for each programme and the list of the amounts transferred between strands under the European territorial cooperation goal for the period 2021 to 2027.

8

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/75 of 17 January 2022 setting out the list of Interreg programme areas to receive support from the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments of the Union, broken down by strand and Interreg programme under the European territorial cooperation goal.

9

Commission Implementing Decision C(2022)4931 of 8 July 2022 approving the cooperation programme “PEACE PLUS Ireland-Northern Ireland /United Kingdom” for support from the European Regional Development Fund under the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) in Ireland with the participation of the United Kingdom.

10

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/67 of 20 October 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing standardised off-the-shelf sampling methodologies and modalities to cover one or more programming periods.