1.   The Community shall provide assistance to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community with particular emphasis on the economic integration of the island, on improving contacts between the two communities and with the EU, and on preparation for the acquis communautaire.

2.   Assistance shall benefit inter alia local bodies, cooperatives and representatives of civil society, in particular organisations of the social partners, business support organisations, bodies carrying out functions in the general interest in the areas, local or traditional communities, associations, foundations, non-profit organisations, non-governmental organisations, and natural and legal persons.

3.   The granting of such assistance shall not imply recognition of any public authority in the areas other than the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.

1.   The Commission shall be responsible for administering the assistance.

2.   The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee provided for in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (3), composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.

3.   The Committee shall give its opinion on draft financing decisions, where they are in excess of EUR 5 million. The Commission may approve, without seeking the opinion of the Committee, financing decisions on supporting activities falling under Article 4(3) of this Regulation, and amendments to financing decisions complying with the objective of the programme and not exceeding 15 % of the financial envelope of such a financing decision.

4.   Where, in accordance with paragraph 3, the Committee is not consulted on financing decisions, the Commission shall inform it no later than one week after the decision is taken.

5.   For the purposes of this Regulation, the management procedure laid down in Article 4 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7(3) thereof.

1.   Assistance under this Regulation may, inter alia, finance procurement contracts, grants, including interest rate subsidies, special loans, loan guarantees and financial assistance.

2.   Assistance may be financed in full by the budget where it is justified and necessary to achieve the objectives of this Regulation.

3.   Assistance may also be used to cover in particular the costs for supporting activities such as preliminary and comparative studies, training, activities linked to preparing, appraising, managing, implementing, monitoring, controlling and evaluation of assistance, activities linked to information and visibility purposes as well as costs for supporting staff, renting of premises and supply of equipment.

1.   Actions under this Regulation shall be implemented according to the rules set down in Title IV of part 2 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (4). All individual legal commitments relating to assistance under this Regulation shall be concluded no later than three years following the date of the budgetary commitment.

2.   Without prejudice to any decision taken in accordance with Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000, the Commission may, within the limits established in Article 54 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, decide to entrust tasks of public authority, and in particular implementation tasks, to the European Agency for Reconstruction or other bodies listed in Article 54(2) of that Regulation. The selection criteria for the bodies listed in Article 54(2)(c) are the following:

3.   Actions under this Regulation may be implemented by shared management according to the rules set down in Title I and II of part 2 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.

1.   The Commission shall ensure that in the implementation of actions financed under this Regulation the rights of natural or legal persons including the rights to possessions and property shall be respected. In this context, the Commission shall act in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

2.   In order to allow the Member States to convey to the Commission any information on possible violations of property rights, the Commission shall submit any draft financing decision which might affect property rights to the Committee referred to in Article 3(2) two months before the financing decision is to be taken.

1.   The Commission shall ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Community are protected against fraud, corruption and any other irregularities in accordance with Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests (5) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (6), and with Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (7).

2.   For the Community actions financed under this Regulation, the notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2988/95 shall mean any infringement of a provision of Community law or any breach of a contractual obligation resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator, which has, or would have, by an unjustified item of expenditure, the effect of prejudicing the general budget of the Communities or budgets managed by them.

3.   Any agreements with the beneficiaries shall expressly provide for the Commission and the Court of Auditors to have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on the spot, over all contractors and subcontractors who have received Community funds. Those agreements shall also expressly authorise the Commission to carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections in accordance with the procedural provisions of Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96.

4.   All contracts resulting from the implementation of assistance shall ensure the rights of the Commission and the Court of Auditors as provided for in paragraph 3, during and after the implementation of contracts.

1.   Participation in the award of procurement or grant contracts financed under this Regulation shall be open to:

2.   Participation in the award of procurement or grant contracts financed under this Regulation shall be open to all natural or legal persons who are nationals of, or legally established on the territory of, any other country than those referred to in paragraph 1 in cases where reciprocal access to their external assistance has been established.

3.   Participation in the award of procurement or grant contracts financed under this Regulation shall be open to international organisations.

4.   All supplies and materials purchased under a contract financed under this Regulation must originate from the Community customs territory, the areas, or a country eligible under paragraphs (1) and (2).

5.   The Commission may, in duly substantiated cases and on a case-by-case basis, authorise the participation of natural and legal persons from other countries or the use of supplies and materials of different origin.