Article 7 Approval and modification of programming documentsF1

The programming documents, including the indicative allocations therein, shall be approved by the Commission in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 14.

At the same time as the programming documents are transmitted to the EDF Committee, the Commission shall also transmit them to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly for information, while fully respecting the decision-making procedure in accordance with Title IV of this Regulation.

The programming documents shall be subsequently endorsed by the ACP State or region concerned as stipulated in Annex IV to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. Countries or regions without a signed programming document remain eligible to funding under the conditions laid down in Article 4(3) of this Regulation.

Strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes, including the indicative allocations therein, may be adjusted taking into account the reviews as foreseen in Articles 5, 11 and 14 of Annex IV of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.

In line with the provisions of Article 2(4) and Article 3(2) of this Regulation, and building on previous EDF and other experience acquired on incentives, including lessons learnt, indicative country allocations may be supplemented through, amongst others, a performance-based mechanism. In this respect, while acknowledging that special treatment shall be given to fragile and vulnerable states to ensure that their particular needs are duly taken into account, resources, if possible up to the range of the volume of the governance incentive tranche under the 10th EDF, are to be made available in order to provide incentives for result-oriented reforms in line with the Agenda for Change and for the fulfilment of the commitments established in the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. The EDF Committee shall in accordance with Article 14(2) of this Regulation hold an exchange of views on the performance-based mechanism.

The procedure set out in Article 14 shall also apply to substantial modifications which have the effect of significantly modifying the strategy, its programming documents and/or its programmable resource allocation. Where applicable, the corresponding addenda to the programming documents shall be subsequently endorsed by the ACP State or region concerned.

On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency, such as crises or immediate threats to democracy, the rule of law, human rights or fundamental freedoms, including those cases referred to in Article 6(2), the procedure referred to in Article 14(4) may be used to modify the programming documents referred to in Article 5.