12003T032

Article 32

1. Save as otherwise provided for in this Treaty, no financial commitments shall be made under the Phare programme [5], the Phare Cross-Border Cooperation programme [6], pre-accession funds for Cyprus and Malta [7], the ISPA programme [8] and the SAPARD programme [9] in favour of the new Member States after 31 December 2003. The new Member States shall receive the same treatment as the present Member States as regards expenditure under the first three Headings of the financial perspective, as defined in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 [10], as from 1 January 2004, subject to the individual specifications and exceptions below or as otherwise provided for in this Treaty. The maximum additional appropriations for headings 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the Financial Perspective related to enlargement are set out in Annex XV. However, no financial commitment under the 2004 budget for any programme or agency concerned may be made before the accession of the relevant new Member State has taken place.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to expenditure under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee Section, according to Articles 2(1), 2(2), and 3(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy [11], which will become eligible for Community funding only from the date of accession, in accordance with Article 2 of this Act.

However, paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply to expenditure for rural development under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee Section, according to Article 47a of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain regulations [12], subject to the conditions set out in the amendment of that Regulation in Annex II to this Act.

3. Subject to the last sentence of paragraph 1, as of 1 January 2004, the new Member States will participate in Community programmes and agencies according to the same terms and conditions as the present Member States with funding from the general budget of the European Communities. The terms and conditions laid down in Association Council Decisions, Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between the European Communities and the new Member States regarding their participation in Community programmes and agencies shall be superseded by the provisions governing the relevant programmes and agencies with effect from 1 January 2004.

4. Should any of the States referred to in Article 1(1) of the Treaty of Accession not accede to the Community during 2004, any application made by or from the State concerned for funding by expenditure under the first three Headings of the Financial Perspective for 2004 shall be null and void. In that case the relevant Association Council Decision, Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding shall continue to apply in respect of that State throughout the entire year 2004.

5. If any measures are necessary to facilitate the transition from the pre-accession regime to that resulting from the application of this Article, the Commission shall adopt the required measures.

[5] Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (OJ L 375, 23.12.1989, p. 11), as amended.

[6] Regulation (EC) No 2760/98 (OJ L 345, 19.12.1998, p. 49), as amended.

[7] Regulation (EC) No 555/2000 (OJ L 68, 16.3.2000, p. 3), as amended.

[8] Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 73), as amended.

[9] Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 87).

[10] Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999, between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure (OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1).

[11] OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.

[12] OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.

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