Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829 of 23 April 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries

The proposing organisations as referred to in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 may submit a proposal for an information and promotion programme provided that they are representative of the sector or product concerned as follows:

1. trade or inter-trade organisation, established in a Member State or at Union level, as referred to in Article 7(1)(a) and (b) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 respectively, shall be deemed to be representative of the sector concerned by the programme:

   1. where it accounts for at least 50 % as a proportion of the number of producers, or 50 % of the volume or value of marketable production of the product(s) or sector concerned, in the Member State concerned or at Union level; or

   2. where it is an interbranch organisation recognised by the Member State in accordance with Article 158 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽¹⁾ or with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽²⁾;

2. a group as defined in point 2 of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽³⁾ and referred to in Article 7(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014, shall be deemed to be representative of the name protected under Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 and covered by the programme, where it accounts for at least 50 % of the volume or value of marketable production of the product(s) whose name is protected;

3. a producer organisation or an association of producer organisations as referred to in Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 shall be deemed to be representative of the product(s) or sector concerned by the programme where it is recognised by the Member State in accordance with Articles 154 or 156 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 or with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013.

By way of derogation from points (a)(i) and (b) of paragraph 1, lower thresholds may be accepted, if the proposing organisation demonstrates in the submitted proposal that there are specific circumstances, including the evidence on the structure of the market, which would justify treating the proposing organisation as representative of the product(s) or sector concerned.

The proposing organisation shall have the necessary technical, financial and professional resources to carry out the programme effectively.

With the exception of programmes carried out to restore normal market conditions in the event of serious market disturbance, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems, a proposing organisation shall not receive support for more than two information and promotion programmes on the same product or scheme, carried out in parallel or consecutively on the territory of the same target country, or part thereof. After having received support for two information and promotion programmes carried out in parallel or consecutively on the same product or scheme, the proposing organisation may only receive support for information and promotion programmes where the following two conditions are fulfilled:

1. the proposing organisation applies for a new programme after the end of the implementation of the previous programmes; and

2. the starting date of the implementation of the new programme shall be at least 12 months after the end of the implementation of the previous programmes.

For the purpose of the first subparagraph, two information and promotion programmes are carried out in parallel when their implementation periods overlap entirely or partly, and they are carried out consecutively when the implementation of the second programme started less than 12 months after the end of the implementation of the first programme.

The proposing organisation shall ensure the absence of any conflict of interests during the preparation of a proposal submitted for evaluation pursuant to Article 11 and Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014, as well as during the implementation of the programme.

Proposing organisations must select bodies responsible for implementing simple programmes ensuring best value for money and the absence of any conflict of interests. In doing so, proposing organisations must take all measures, including during the preparation of the proposal, to prevent any situation where the impartial and objective implementation of the programme is compromised for reasons involving economic interest, political or national affinity, family or emotional ties or any other shared interest.

Proposing organisations shall inform Member States about the measures taken to ensure best value for money when selecting the bodies responsible for implementing simple programmes and the absence of any conflict of interests, before the conclusion of the contracts for the implementation of simple programmes.

Where the proposing organisation is a body governed by public law within the meaning of Article 2(1)(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU, it must select bodies responsible for implementing simple programmes in accordance with the national legislation transposing that Directive.

To be eligible, the simple programmes shall:

1. comply with Union law governing the products concerned and their marketing;

2. be of a significant scale, notably in terms of its foreseen measurable cross-border impact. In the internal market, this means that a programme shall be implemented in at least two Member States with a coherent share of the allocated budget in particular taking into account the respective size of the market in each of the Member States concerned, or be implemented in one Member State if that Member State is different from the Member State of origin of the proposing organisation(s). This requirement does not apply to programmes relaying a message which concerns the Union quality schemes referred to in Article 5(4)(a), (b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 and to programmes relaying a message which concerns proper dietary practices;

3. have a Union dimension, both in terms of content of the message and impact, in particular provide information on European production standards, the quality and safety of European food products and European dietary practices and culture, promote the image of European products on the internal market and international markets, raise awareness of European products and logos among the general public and in commercial undertakings. This means in particular for a programme in the internal market covering one or more schemes as referred to in Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014, to focus on the(se) scheme(s) in its main Union message. When in this programme, one or several products illustrate(s) the(se) scheme(s), it/they shall appear as a secondary message in relation to the main Union message;

In addition, if a message conveyed by a programme concerns information on the impact on health, this message shall:

1. in the internal market, comply with the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, or be accepted by the national authority responsible for public health in the Member State where the operations are carried out;

2. in third countries, be accepted by the national authority responsible for public health in the country where the operations are carried out.

Costs eligible for Union funding shall be costs which meet all of the following criteria:

1. they are actually incurred by the proposing organisation during the implementation of the programme, with the exception of costs relating to final reports and evaluation;

2. they are indicated in the estimated overall budget of the programme;

3. they are necessary for the implementation of the programme which is subject of co-financing;

4. they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the proposing organisation and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the Member State where the proposing organisation is established;

5. they comply with the requirements of the applicable tax and social legislation;

6. they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the principle of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the criteria indicated under points (a) and (d) of that subparagraph shall not apply to lump sums.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the criteria indicated under points (b), (c), (e) and (f) of that subparagraph shall apply to lump sums for the purpose of the evaluation of proposals pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014.

The call for proposals referred to in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 shall specify the categories of costs considered as eligible for Union funding.

However, the following categories of costs shall be eligible:

1. by way of derogation from Article 19(4) of Regulation (EU) No 907/2014, costs relating to an advance guarantee provided by a bank or financial institution and lodged by the proposing organisation where that guarantee is required in accordance with Article 15(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014;

2. costs relating to external audits where such audits are required in support of the requests for payments;

3. personnel costs limited to salaries, social security charges and other costs included in the remuneration of personnel assigned to the implementation of the programme, arising from the applicable national law or from the employment contract, the costs for natural persons working under a direct contract with the proposing organisation other than an employment contract or seconded by a third party against payment;

4. value added tax (‘VAT’) where it is not recoverable under the applicable national VAT legislation and is paid by a beneficiary other than a non-taxable person as defined in the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC⁽⁴⁾;

5. the costs of studies to evaluate the results of promotional and information measures, as referred to in Article 15(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014, performed by an independent and qualified external body.

Indirect eligible costs shall be determined by applying a flat rate of 4 % of the total direct eligible personnel costs of the proposing organisation.

The call for proposals referred to in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 shall specify which form of grant is considered as eligible for Union funding among the following:

1. reimbursement of eligible costs actually incurred by a beneficiary during the implementation of the programme, with the exception of costs relating to final reports and evaluation as well as of reimbursement of indirect eligible costs as referred to in paragraph 3;

2. lump sums.

The proposing organisation shall establish the amounts for the grant referred to in paragraph 4, point (b), in one of the following ways:

1. a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method based on:

   1. statistical data, other objective information or an expert judgement;

   2. verified historical data of individual beneficiaries; or

   3. the application of the usual cost accounting practices of individual beneficiaries;

2. in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding lump sums applicable in Union policies for similar activities;

3. in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding lump sums applied under schemes for grants funded entirely by the Member State for similar activities.

In the case of irregularities, an administrative penalty shall be imposed on the proposing organisation that shall consist of the payment of twice the difference between the amount initially paid or requested and the amount actually due.

In case of a serious misconduct, in particular recurrence of the irregularities referred to in paragraph 1 or when the proposing organisation has been found to be in serious breach of its obligations in the selection procedure of the programmes or their operation, the proposing organisation shall be excluded from the right to participate in the information provision and promotion measures for the period of three years from the date the infringement is established.