Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the 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^f1, and in particular Article 24(1) thereof,

Whereas:

Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 lays down the conditions whereby Member States may receive a contribution from the Community for expenditure incurred in their national programmes of collection and management of data.

Those programmes are to be drawn up in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1543/2000 of 29 June 2000 establishing a Community framework for the collection and management of the data needed to conduct the common fisheries policy^f2 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1639/2001 of 25 July 2001 establishing the minimum and extended Community programmes for the collection of data in the fisheries sector and laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1543/2000^f3.

Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Finland, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom have submitted national programmes for 2007. Those Member States have also submitted applications for a financial contribution by the Community.

The Commission has examined Member States’ programmes and has assessed the eligibility of the expenditures.

Council Decision 2000/439/EC^f4 was repealed by Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006. Article 16 of the latter Regulation establishes that Community financial measures in the area of basic data collection shall not exceed 50 % of the costs incurred by Member States in carrying out a programme as provided for in Article 23(1) of the same Regulation (861/2006). Article 24, paragraph 3b of Council Regulation establishes that Commission Decisions shall fix the rate of the financial contribution. According to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1543/2000 it is foreseen that Decisions covering expenditures incurred by Member States under the data collection will follow the rates of 50 % for the minimum programme and 35 % for the extended programme.

A first instalment should be delivered to the Member States concerned. A second instalment should be forwarded, in 2008, following the transmission and acceptance by the Commission of a financial and technical report of activity detailing the state of completion of the aims set at the time of drawing-up the minimum and extended programmes.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: