1.   No revenue shall be collected and no expenditure effected unless booked to a line in the budget of the PPP body.

2.   No expenditure may be committed or authorised in excess of the appropriations authorised by the budget of the PPP body.

3.   An appropriation may be entered in the budget of the PPP body only if it is for an item of expenditure considered necessary.

4.   Interests generated by pre-financing payments made from the budget of the PPP body shall not be due to the PPP body.

1.   The appropriations entered in the budget of the PPP body shall be authorised for a financial year which shall run from 1 January to 31 December.

2.   Commitment appropriations shall cover the total cost of the legal commitments entered into during the financial year.

3.   Payment appropriations shall cover payments made to honour the legal commitments entered into in the financial year or preceding financial years.

4.   For administrative appropriations, expenditure shall not exceed the revenue expected for the year as referred in Article 3(a)(i).

5.   Given the needs of the PPP body, the unused appropriations may be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the following three financial years. These appropriations must be used first.

6.   Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not prevent budget commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year being broken down over several years into annual instalments where the constituent instrument so provides or where they relate to administrative expenditure.

1.   Revenue and payment appropriations shall be in balance.

2.   Commitment appropriations shall not exceed the relevant annual Union contribution as set out in the annual transfer of funds agreement with the Commission, plus annual contributions from other members than the Union, any other revenue referred to in Article 3 and the amount of the unused appropriations referred to in Article 6(5).

3.   The PPP body may not raise loans within the framework of the budget of the PPP body.

4.   If the budget result is positive, it shall be entered in the budget of the following financial year as revenue.

If the budget result is negative, it shall be entered in the budget for the following financial year as payment appropriations.

1.   Without prejudice to paragraph 2, total revenue shall cover total payment appropriations. All revenue and expenditure shall be entered in full without any adjustment against each other, subject to any specific provision in the financial rules of the PPP body on cases where certain deductions may be made from payment requests, which shall then be passed for payment of the net amount.

2.   Revenue earmarked for a specific purpose, such as income from foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests, shall be used to finance specific items of expenditure.

3.   The director may accept any donation made to the PPP body, such as foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests.

Acceptance of donations which may involve a significant financial charge shall be subject to the prior authorisation of the governing board, which shall take a decision within two months of the date on which the request is submitted to it. If the governing board fails to take a decision within that period, the donation shall be deemed to be accepted.

The amount above which the financial charge involved is considered significant shall be set by a decision of the governing board.

1.   Appropriations shall be earmarked for specific purposes at least by title and chapter.

2.   The director may transfer appropriations from one chapter to another without limit and from one title to another up to a maximum of 10 % of the appropriations for the year shown on the line from which the transfer is made.

Beyond the limit referred to in the first subparagraph, the director may propose to the governing board transfers of appropriations from one title to another. The governing board shall have three weeks to oppose such transfers. After that time-limit they shall be deemed to be adopted.

The director shall inform the governing board as soon as possible of all transfers carried out under the first subparagraph.

1.   Appropriations shall be used in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, namely in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

2.   The principle of economy requires that the resources used by the PPP body in the pursuit of its activities are made available in due time, in appropriate quantity and quality and at the best price.

The principle of efficiency concerns the best relationship between resources employed and results achieved.

The principle of effectiveness concerns the attainment of the specific objectives set and the achievement of the intended results.

3.   Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed objectives shall be set for all sectors of activity covered by the budget of the PPP body. The achievement of those objectives shall be monitored by performance indicators for each activity, and the information shall be provided to the governing board by the director annually and at the latest in the documents accompanying the draft budget of the PPP body.

4.   Unless the constituent instrument provides for evaluations to be conducted by the Commission, the PPP body, in order to improve decision-making, shall undertake evaluations, including ex post evaluations, of its programmes and activities which entail significant spending and evaluation results shall be sent to the governing board.

1.   The budget of the PPP body shall be implemented in compliance with effective and efficient internal control.

2.   For the purposes of the implementation of the budget of the PPP body, internal control is defined as a process applicable at all levels of management and designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving the following objectives:

3.   Effective and efficient internal control shall be based on best international practices and include, in particular, the elements laid down in Article 32(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, taking into account the structure and size of the PPP body, the nature of the tasks entrusted to it and the amounts and financial and operational risks involved.

1.   The budget of the PPP body shall be established and implemented and the accounts presented in accordance with the principle of transparency.

2.   The budget of the PPP body including the establishment plan and amending budgets, as adopted, including any adaptations as provided in Article 15(1), shall be published on the internet site of the PPP body within four weeks of their adoption and shall be transmitted to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

3.   The PPP body shall make available on its internet site no later than 30 June of the following financial year information on the recipients of funds deriving from its budget, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 21 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012, following a standard presentation.

The published information shall be easily accessible, transparent and comprehensive. The information shall be made available with due observance of the requirements of confidentiality and security, in particular the protection of personal data laid down in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4).

4.   The experts contracted pursuant to Article 34 of this Regulation shall be published on an internet site of the Union.

1.   The PPP body shall send to the Commission and to the other members no later than 31 January of the year preceding that in which the budget of the PPP body is to be implemented an estimate of its revenue and expenditure and the general guidelines underlying that estimate, together with its draft work programme referred to in Article 31(4).

2.   The estimate of revenue and expenditure of the PPP body shall include:

1.   The budget of the PPP body and the staff establishment plan, including the number of permanent and temporary posts by function group and by grade and complemented with the number of contract staff and of seconded national experts expressed in full-time equivalents, shall be adopted by the governing board in accordance with the constituent instrument of the PPP body. Detailed provisions may be laid down in the financial rules of the PPP body. Any amendment to the budget of the PPP body, including the establishment plan, shall be the subject of an amending budget of the PPP body adopted by the same procedure as the initial budget of the PPP body. The budget of the PPP body and, where appropriate, the amending budgets of the PPP body shall be adapted in order to take into account the amount of the Union contribution as laid down in the budget of the Union.

2.   The budget of the PPP body shall consist of a statement of revenue and a statement of expenditure.

3.   The budget of the PPP body shall show:

4.   The establishment plan shall show next to the number of posts authorised for the financial year, the number authorised for the preceding year and the number of posts actually filled. The same information shall be shown for the contract staff and seconded national experts.

1.   The director shall perform the duties of authorising officer. The director shall implement the revenue and expenditure of the budget of the PPP body in accordance with the financial rules of the PPP body and the principle of sound financial management under his or her own responsibility and within the limits of the appropriations authorised. The director shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of legality and regularity.

Without prejudice to the responsibilities of the authorising officer as regards prevention and detection of fraud and irregularities, the PPP body shall participate in fraud prevention activities of the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF).

2.   The director may delegate the powers of budget implementation to staff of the PPP body covered by the Staff Regulations, where those apply to the staff of the PPP body, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the financial rules of the PPP body. Those so empowered may act only within the limits of the powers expressly conferred upon them.

1.   The budget of the PPP body shall be implemented by the director in the departments placed under his or her authority.

2.   Technical expertise tasks and administrative, preparatory or ancillary tasks not involving the exercise of public authority or the use of discretionary powers of judgement may be entrusted by contract to external private-sector entities or bodies, where this proves to be indispensable.

3.   The director shall, in accordance with the minimum standards adopted by the governing board, and having due regard to the risks associated with the management environment and the nature of the action financed, put in place the organisational structure and the internal control systems suited to the performance of duties of the director. The establishment of such structure and systems shall be supported by a risk analysis which takes into account their cost-effectiveness.

The director may establish within his or her departments an expertise and advice function designed to help him or her control the risks involved in his or her activities.

4.   The authorising officer shall conserve the supporting documents relating to operations carried out for a period of five years from the date of the decision granting discharge to the Commission in respect of implementation of the budget of the Union for the year concerned. Personal data contained in supporting document shall be deleted where possible when those data are not necessary for control and audit purposes. In any event, as regards the conservation of traffic data, Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 shall apply.

1.   Each operation shall be subject at least to an ex ante control based on a desk review of documents and on the available results of controls already carried out relating to the operational and financial aspects of the operation.

Ex ante controls shall comprise the initiation and the verification of an operation.

Initiation and verification of an operation shall be separate functions.

2.   Initiation of an operation shall be understood as all the operations which are preparatory to the adoption of the acts implementing the budget of the PPP body by the authorising officer responsible.

3.   Ex ante verification of an operation shall be understood as all the ex ante checks put in place by the authorising officer responsible in order to verify the operational and financial aspects.

4.   Ex ante controls shall verify the coherence among supporting documents requested and any other information available.

The extent in terms of frequency and intensity of the ex ante controls shall be determined by the authorising officer responsible taking into account risk-based and cost-effectiveness considerations. In case of doubt, the authorising officer responsible for validating the relevant payment shall request complementary information or perform an on-the-spot control in order to obtain reasonable assurance as part of the ex ante control.

The purpose of the ex ante controls shall be to ascertain that:

For the purpose of controls, a series of similar individual transactions relating to routine expenditure on salaries, pensions, reimbursement of mission expenses and medical expenses may be considered by the authorising officer responsible to constitute a single operation.

1.   The authorising officer responsible may put in place ex post controls to verify operations already approved following ex ante controls. Such controls may be organised on a sample basis according to risk.

The ex post controls may be carried out on the basis of documents and, where appropriate, on the spot.

2.   The ex post controls shall be carried out by staff other than that responsible for the ex ante controls. The staff responsible for the ex post controls shall not be subordinate to the members of the staff responsible for the ex ante controls.

Staff responsible for controlling the management of financial operations shall have the necessary professional skills.

1.   If a member of staff involved in the financial management and control of transactions considers that a decision he or she is required by his or her superior to apply or to agree to is irregular or contrary to the principles of sound financial management or the professional rules which that member of staff is required to observe, he or she shall inform the director in writing who shall reply in writing. If the director fails to take action or confirms the initial decision or instruction and the member of staff believes that such confirmation does not constitute a reasonable response to his or her concern, the member of staff shall inform the relevant panel referred to in Article 23(3) in writing. The panel referred to in Article 23(3) shall immediately inform the governing board.

2.   In the event of any illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the PPP body or of its members, the member of staff shall inform the authorities and bodies designated by the applicable legislation. Contracts with external auditors carrying out audits of the financial management of the PPP body shall provide for an obligation of the external auditor to inform the authorising officer of any suspected illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the PPP body or of its members.

1.   The governing board shall appoint an accounting officer covered by the Staff Regulations, where those apply to the staff of the PPP body, who shall be totally independent in the performance of his or her duties. The accounting officer shall be responsible in the PPP body for:

2.   Two or more PPP bodies may appoint the same accounting officer.

PPP bodies may also agree with the Commission that the accounting officer of the Commission shall also act as accounting officer of the PPP body.

They may also entrust the accounting officer of the Commission with part of the tasks of the accounting officer of the PPP body taking into account cost-benefit considerations.

In the case referred to in this paragraph, they shall make necessary arrangements in order to avoid any conflict of interests.

3.   The accounting officer shall obtain from the authorising officer all the information necessary for the production of accounts which give a true and fair view of the PPP body’s financial situation and of budgetary implementation. The authorising officer shall guarantee the reliability of that information.

4.   Before the adoption of the accounts by the director, the accounting officer shall sign them off, thereby certifying that he or she has a reasonable assurance that the accounts present a true and fair view of the financial situation of the PPP body.

For the purpose of the first subparagraph, the accounting officer shall verify that the accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 38 and that all revenue and expenditure is entered in the accounts.

The accounting officer shall be empowered to check the information received as well as to carry out any further checks he or she deems necessary in order to sign off the accounts.

The accounting officer shall make reservations, if necessary, explaining exactly the nature and scope of such reservations.

Subject to paragraph 5, only the accounting officer shall be empowered to manage cash and cash equivalents. The accounting officer shall be responsible for their safekeeping.

5.   The accounting officer may, in the performance of his or her duties, delegate certain tasks to staff members subject to the Staff Regulations, where those apply to the staff of the PPP body, where this is indispensable for the performance of his or her duties in accordance with the financial rules of the PPP body.

6.   Without prejudice to any disciplinary action, the accounting officer may at any time be suspended temporarily or definitively from his or her duties by the governing board. In such a case, the governing board shall appoint an interim accounting officer.

1.   Articles 16 to 25 are without prejudice to any liability under criminal law which the financial actors may incur as provided for in the applicable national law and in the provisions in force concerning the protection of the Union’s financial interests and the fight against corruption involving Union officials or officials of Member States.

2.   Each authorising officer and accounting officer shall be liable to disciplinary action and payment of compensation as laid down in the Staff Regulations. In the event of illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the PPP body or of its members, the matter shall be submitted to the authorities and bodies designated by the applicable legislation, in particular to OLAF.

3.   The specialised financial irregularities panel set up by the Commission or in which the Commission participates in accordance with Article 73(6) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, shall exercise the same powers in respect of the PPP body as it does in respect of Commission departments, unless the governing board decides to set up a functionally independent panel, or to participate in a joint panel established by several bodies. For cases submitted by PPP bodies, the specialised financial irregularities panel set up by the Commission or in which the Commission participates shall include one staff member of a PPP body.

On the basis of the opinion of the panel referred to in the first subparagraph, the director shall decide whether to initiate proceedings for disciplinary action or for the payment of compensation. If the panel detects systemic problems, it shall send a report with recommendations to the authorising officer. If the opinion implicates the director, the panel shall send it to the governing board and to the Commission’s internal auditor. The director shall refer, in anonymous form, to opinions of the panel in his or her report under Article 20 and indicate the follow-up measures taken.

4.   Any member of the staff may be required to compensate, in whole or in part, any damage suffered by the PPP body as a result of a serious misconduct on his or her part in the course of or in connection with the performance of his or her duties. The appointing authority shall take a reasoned decision after completing the formalities laid down by the applicable legislation with regard to disciplinary matters.

1.   Financial actors within the meaning of Articles 16 to 25 and other persons involved in budget implementation and management, including acts preparatory thereto, audit or control shall not take any action which may bring their own interests into conflict with those of the PPP body.

Where such a risk exists, the person in question shall refrain from such actions and shall refer the matter to the director who shall confirm in writing whether a conflict of interests exists. The person in question shall also inform his or her immediate supervisor. If the actor is the director, he or she must refer the matter to the governing board.

Where a conflict of interests is found to exist, the person in question shall cease all activities in the matter. The director or the governing board, in the case of the director, shall take any further appropriate action.

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, a conflict of interests exists where the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a financial actor or other person, as referred to in paragraph 1, is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other shared interest with a recipient.

1.   The PPP body shall have an internal audit function which shall be performed in compliance with the relevant international standards.

2.   The internal audit function shall be performed by the Commission’s internal auditor. The internal auditor may be neither authorising officer nor accounting officer.

3.   The internal auditor shall advise the PPP body on dealing with risks, by issuing independent opinions on the quality of management and control systems and by issuing recommendations for improving the conditions of implementation of operations and promoting sound financial management.

The internal auditor shall be responsible in particular for:

4.   The internal auditor shall perform his or her duties in relation to all the PPP body’s activities and departments. The internal auditor shall enjoy full and unlimited access to all information required to perform his or her duties.

5.   The internal auditor shall take note of the report of the authorising officer under Article 20 and of any other pieces of information identified.

6.   The internal auditor shall report to the governing board and the director on his or her findings and recommendations.

The internal auditor shall also report in any of the following cases:

The governing board and the director shall ensure the regular monitoring of the implementation of audit recommendations. The governing board shall examine the information referred to in Article 20 and whether the recommendations have been fully and timely implemented.

7.   The PPP body shall make available the contact details of the internal auditor to any natural or legal person involved in expenditure operations, for the purposes of confidentially contacting the internal auditor.

8.   The reports and findings of the internal auditor shall be accessible to the public only after validation by the internal auditor of the action taken for their implementation.

1.   The governing board may establish with due regard to cost effectiveness and added value, an internal audit capability which shall perform its duties in compliance with the relevant international standards.

The purpose, authority and responsibility of the internal audit capability shall be provided for in the internal audit charter and shall be subject to the approval of the governing board.

The annual audit plan of an internal audit capability shall be drawn up by the Head of internal audit capability taking into consideration, inter alia, the director’s assessment of risk in the PPP body.

It shall be reviewed and approved by the governing board.

The internal audit capability shall report to the governing board and the director on his or her findings and recommendations.

If the internal audit capability of a single PPP body is not cost-effective or is not able to meet international standards, the PPP body may decide to share an internal audit capability with other PPP bodies functioning in the same policy area.

In such cases the governing board of the concerned PPP bodies shall agree on the practical modalities of the shared internal audit capabilities.

The internal audit actors shall cooperate efficiently through exchanging information and audit reports and, when appropriate, establishing joint risk assessments and carrying out joint audits.

2.   The governing board and the director shall ensure the regular monitoring of the implementation of internal audit capability’s recommendation.

1.   Implementation of revenue shall comprise drawing up estimates of amounts receivable, establishing entitlements to be recovered and recovering undue amounts. It shall also include the possibility of waiving established entitlements, where appropriate.

2.   Amounts wrongly paid shall be recovered.

If actual recovery has not taken place by the due date stipulated in the debit note, the accounting officer shall inform the authorising officer responsible and immediately launch the procedure for effecting recovery by any means offered by the law, including, where appropriate, by offsetting and, if this is not possible, by enforced recovery.

Where the authorising officer responsible plans to waive or partially waive recovery of an established amount receivable, he or she shall ensure that the waiver is in order and is in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and proportionality. The waiver decision shall be substantiated. The waiver decision shall state that action has been taken to secure recovery and the points of law and fact on which it is based.

The accounting officer shall keep a list of amounts due to be recovered. The PPP body’s entitlements shall be grouped in the list according to the date of issue of the recovery order. The accounting officer shall also indicate decisions to waive or partially waive recovery of established amounts. The list shall be added to the PPP body’s report on budgetary and financial management.

3.   Any debt not repaid on the due date laid down in the debit note shall bear interest in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012.

4.   Entitlements of the PPP body in respect of third parties and entitlements of third parties in respect of the PPP body shall be subject to a limitation period of five years.

1.   The PPP body shall present to its members requests for payment of all or part of their contribution under terms and at intervals set out in the constituent instrument or agreed with them.

2.   The funds paid to the PPP body by its members by way of a contribution shall bear interest for the benefit of the budget of the PPP body.

1.   To implement expenditure, the authorising officer shall make budgetary commitments and legal commitments, shall validate expenditure and authorise payments and shall undertake the preliminary steps for the implementation of appropriations.

2.   Every item of expenditure shall be committed, validated, authorised and paid.

Validation of expenditure is the act whereby the authorising officer responsible confirms a financial operation.

Authorisation of expenditure is the act by which the authorising officer responsible, having verified that the appropriations are available, instructs the accounting officer to pay the validated expenditure.

3.   In respect of any measure which may give rise to expenditure chargeable to the budget of the PPP body, the authorising officer responsible shall make a budgetary commitment before entering into a legal commitment with third parties.

4.   The annual work programme of the PPP body shall provide the authorisation by the governing board for the operational expenditure of the PPP body on the activities it covers, provided that the elements set out in this paragraph are clearly identified.

The annual work programme shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results including performance indicators. It shall also contain a description of the action(s) to be financed and an indication of the amount allocated to each action.

Any substantial amendment to the annual work programme shall be adopted by the same procedure as the initial work programme, in accordance with the provisions of the constituent instrument.

The governing board may delegate the power to make non-substantial amendments to the work programme to the authorising officer of the PPP body.

1.   As regards procurement, Title V of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 shall apply subject to paragraphs 3 to 6 of this Article.

2.   The PPP body shall participate in the central exclusion database set up and operated by the Commission pursuant to Article 108 of the general Financial Regulation.

3.   For contracts with a value between EUR 60 000 and the thresholds laid down in Article 118 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 the procedure set out Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 for contracts with a low value not exceeding EUR 60 000 may be used.

4.   The PPP body may be associated, at its request, as contracting authority, in the award of Commission or interinstitutional contracts and with the award of contracts of other Union or PPP bodies.

5.   The PPP body may conclude a contract, without having recourse to a public procurement procedure, with the Commission, the interinstitutional offices, the Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 (5) and other PPP bodies for the supply of goods, provision of services or performance of work that the latter provide.

The PPP body may conclude a contract, without having recourse to a public procurement procedure, with its members other than the Union for the supply of goods, provision of services or performance of work that those members directly provide without having recourse to third parties.

The goods, services or work provided under the first and second subparagraph shall not be considered part of the contribution of the members to the budget of the PPP body.

6.   The PPP body may use joint procurement procedures with contracting authorities of the host Member State to cover its administrative needs or with contracting authorities of Member States, the EuropeanFreeTradeAssociationStatesor Union candidate countries which participate in it as members. In such cases, Article 133 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

The PPP body may use joint procurement procedures with its private members or with contracting authorities of countries participating in Union programmes which participate in it as members. In such cases, the first paragraph of Article 133 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1.   As regards prizes, Title VII of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 shall apply subject to paragraph 2 of this Article.

2.   Contests for prizes with a unit value of EUR 1 000 000 or more may only be published if they are provided for in the draft work programme referred to in Article 14(1).

1.   Where a procedural act of an authorising officer adversely affects the rights of an applicant or tenderer, beneficiary or contractor, it shall contain an indication of the available means of administrative and/or judicial redress for challenging this act.

2.   In particular, the nature of the redress, the body or bodies before which it can be brought, as well as time limits for their exercise shall be indicated

3.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be subject to any specific procedure laid down in the basic acts of the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body.

1.   The financial statements shall be presented in euro and shall comprise:

2.   The notes to the financial statements shall supplement and comment on the information presented in the statements referred to in paragraph 1 and shall supply all the additional information prescribed by internationally accepted accounting practice where such information is relevant to the PPP body’s activities.

1.   Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the accounting officer of the PPP body shall send the provisional accounts to the Court of Auditors by 15 February of the following year.

In the case referred to in the first subparagraph, the accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send by 15 February of the following year a reporting package to the accounting officer of the Commission, in a standardised format as laid down by the accounting officer of the Commission for consolidation purposes.

2.   The accounting officer shall draw up the final accounts of the PPP body. The director shall send them by 15 March, together with the opinion of the external auditor referred to in Article 46, to the governing board for approval.

Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the accounting officer shall send the final accounts, together with the opinion of the external auditor referred to in Article 46 and the approval of the governing board to the Court of Auditors, the European Parliament and the Council, by 1 July of the following financial year. In such case the accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send by 1 July a reporting package to the accounting officer of the Commission in a standardised format as laid down by the accounting officer of the Commission for consolidation purposes.

Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send to the Court of Auditors, with a copy to the accounting officer of the Commission, at the same date as the transmission of the final accounts, a representation letter covering those final accounts.

The final accounts shall be accompanied by a note drawn up by the accounting officer in which the latter declares that the final accounts were prepared in accordance with thischapter and with the applicable accounting principles, rules and methods.

The final approved accounts of the PPP body shall be published on its internet site within one month from their approval.

1.   Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the harmonised chart of accounts to be applied by the PPP body shall be adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer in accordance with Article 152 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

2.   The accounting system shall consist of general accounts and budgetary accounts. The accounts shall be kept in euro on the basis of the calendar year.

3.   The general accounts shall record, in chronological order using the double entry method, all events and operations which affect the economic and financial situation and the assets and liabilities of the PPP body.

4.   The budgetary accounts shall provide a detailed record of the implementation of the budget of the PPP body. They shall record all budgetary revenue and expenditure operations.

1.   Unless otherwise provided for in the constituent instrument of the PPP body, the Court of Auditors shall scrutinise the accounts of the PPP body in accordance with Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In its examination, the Court of Auditors may consider the audit work performed by the independent external auditor referred to in Article 46 of this Regulation and the action taken in response to his or her findings.

2.   The scrutiny carried out by the Court of Auditors shall be governed by Articles 158 to 163 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

1.   Without prejudice to Article 47(1), the PPP body shall grant Commission staff and other persons authorised by it, as well as the Court of Auditors, access to its sites and premises and to all the information, including information in electronic format, needed in order to conduct their audits.

2.   OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 (6) of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 (7) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant or contract funded by the PPP body.

3.   Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 2, contracts, agreements and decisions of the PPP body shall contain provisions expressly empowering the European Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, according to their respective competences.