# Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, Article 4: General principles

Extent: E+S+N.I.

1. Support for rural development must be provided through multi-annual programmes that complement national, regional and local intervention, as well as the Fund-specific missions, including economic, social and territorial cohesion.
2. The relevant authority must ensure, taking account of the specific context of each constituent nation, that support for rural development is consistent with the horizontal principles referred to in Articles 5, 7 and 8 and that it is complementary to CMO support and direct payment support and support under other assimilated direct legislation.
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4. The relevant authority, in accordance with its institutional, legal and financial framework, and the bodies designated by it for that purpose shall be responsible for preparing and implementing programmes and carrying out their tasks, in partnership with the relevant partners referred to in Article 5, in compliance with this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules.
5. Arrangements for the implementation and use of support for rural development, and in particular the financial and administrative resources required for the preparation and implementation of programmes, in relation to monitoring, reporting, evaluation, management and control, shall respect the principle of proportionality having regard to the level of support allocated and shall take into account the overall aim of reducing the administrative burden on bodies involved in the management and control of the programmes.
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9. The relevant authority and Managing Authority shall ensure the effectiveness of support for rural development during preparation and implementation, in relation to monitoring, reporting and evaluation.
10. The relevant authority and Managing Authority shall carry out their respective roles in relation to support for rural development with the aim of reducing the administrative burden on beneficiaries.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2013/1303/article/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2013-1303/article-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.