Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period^f1, and in particular Article 12(2) thereof,

Whereas:

Article 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2222/2000^f2 lays down the rules regarding automatic de-commitment of unused appropriations, and in particular provides, for the years 2004 and 2005, that this shall occur on 31 December of the second year following the year of the financial commitment concerned (the n+2 rule for automatic de-commitment) reflecting Article 31(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds^f3.

In 2005 Bulgaria and especially Romania suffered under severe floods which further hampered the implementation of the instrument and which is likely to have repercussions on use of appropriations provided for the years 2004 and 2005.

It is therefore justified to apply an ‘n+3’ automatic de-commitment rule for the years 2004 and 2005 to Bulgaria and Romania.

Regulation (EC) No 2222/2000 should therefore be amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee of the European Agriculture and Guidance Fund (EAGGF),

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: