Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community^f1, and in particular Article 14(5) thereof,

Whereas:

Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 applies from 1 January 2003 and provides the basis to continue with an integrated approach the measures previously carried out under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Community’s forests against atmospheric pollution^f2 and Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of the Community's forests against fire^f3. In addition, Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 has been established to continue air pollution and fire-related forest monitoring and study any further development of the scheme in the future in order to address new environmental issues of relevance for the Community.

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 stipulates that the activities provided for in Articles 4, 5, 6(2) and (3) and 7(2) of the Regulation shall be implemented under national programmes to be drawn up by Member States for a period of two years. According to Article 8(5), on the basis of the national programmes submitted, or on the basis of any approved adaptations of these national programmes, the Commission shall decide on the financial contributions to the eligible costs.

Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 requires Member States to designate the bodies competent to manage the activities included in the approved national programmes. Thus, that Regulation explicitly delegates implementation tasks to national bodies.

In the absence of a Commission Regulation laying down the detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003, the provisions of Commission Regulations (EEC) 1696/87 of 10 June 1987 laying down certain detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution (inventories, network, reports)^f4, (EC) No 804/94 of 11 April 1994 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 as regards forest fire information systems^f5, (EC) No 1091/94 of 29 April 1994 laying down certain detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution^f6, (EC) No 1727/1999^f7 and (EC) No 2278/1999^f8 are still applicable, in so far as they are not incompatible with Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003.

Certain provisions of Regulations (EC) No 1727/1999 and (EC) No 2278/1999 should, however, be brought into line with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities^f9, in particular Article 54(2)(c) and Article 56 thereof, and Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities^f10.

Prior analysis has disclosed that the delegation of budget implementation tasks in accordance with Article 54(2)(c) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 to national public-sector bodies or bodies governed by private law satisfies the requirements of sound financial management and ensures compliance with the principle of non-discrimination and the visibility of Community action.

Criteria for the selection of bodies competent to be designated by the Member States according to Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 should be introduced into Regulations (EC) No 1727/1999 and (EC) No 2278/1999 together with provisions ensuring compliance with the requirements of a sound financial management and full respect of the principles of non-discrimination and transparency.

Regulations (EC) No 1727/1999 and (EC) No 2278/1999 should therefore be amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Forestry Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: